I've been trying to think of a good way to stop mild trail erosion at my property. I think I may have found the right idea. I bought a roll of 11 1/2" wide conveyor belt at auction for a dollar. Someone told me if I bury it vertically with 3-4" exposed, it will divert rain water off the trail, yet will hold up to me driving vehicles over it. Interesting. Maybe some of u have tried it.

Let us know if it works.

Try cutting slanted trough's off to the side towards where you want the water to go. This will divert the water off your road before the volume get's to be enough to wash out the road.

That's what the county maintainers try to do. Drop the blade ever once in awhile to cut a channel for the water to run off.

Working with a maintenance crew at a 3,500 acre private preserve in the Poconos with miles of trails and dirt roads we would cut swales diagonally across the trails and roads and grade the dirt that came out on the lower side of the swale to create a slight rise. The guys up there called them "Thank you ma'ams."

Interesting idea about the conveyor belt. I'd be interested in hearing how it works for you.

I like the idea about used conveyor belt. I'm going to try it.

Weyerhauser in Springfield, Oregon area tried this about 20 years ago. Instead of cutting the water bars in the roads, they buried the rubber belts as you described. Much more pleasant for a log truck to drive over, and easier on equipment. They held up ok for a few years but eventually they disappeared. The did cause a problem for blading the road where they were. For a trail as you describe they should last forever.

Grade a crown in the path. Many large rocks?

Water bars

I have used that and old snowmobile tracs to divert water. You can make box culverts w/ pressure treated wood at an angle across the road or cut water bars.

Water bars are the answer under normal conditions. This year in PA has been unbelievably abnormal. All my best water bars and thank-you-ma’am’s are filling up with stone. It’s pretty wild to see a high volume of stone get washed off. It’s a whole other level of whaaaat is goin on when so much stone is washing off that your water bar fills up with it. Flooding everywhere up here in north central pa.

No
Ps. Here is what I bought

That will work good. We have done it many times.

It's been a rough year here too.

Take some pictures when it's put in

I’ve seen this used and for a lightly traveled trail or road I think it is the most maintenance-free method out there. All the benefits of water bars without the road roughness.

Sounds like it should work for what you’re doing, grading a crown would be best but for a trail, as I understand, this would be the most economical and efficient option.

It should work but if not across the flow direction it will wash out between strips. Installed Forest Service version that was mat of crisscrossed strips that holds up to many directions of flow. Not much even culverts will handle flood waters. Moving water is strong.

I have a 6' Firminator planter and it's all my Kubota L3600 wants to handle. I have 6 75 lb weights on the front and the front end still comes off the ground on some of the water bars.