Campus Master Planning at UAF
Summer view of the Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station

Allowed Uses


Allowed uses in the Summer:

Collage picture of summer sports - jogging, biking, fishing

Virtually any non-motorized use (view Summer Use map below)

Virtually any non-motorized use. Uses will continue as follows:

Non-motorized uses will be allowed in the summer, including horseback riding, walking, jogging/running, bike riding.

Leashed dogs will be allowed on all trails in the summer (please clean up after them!).

Only authorized vehicles will be allowed in the summer and only on the road to the T-field and the Potato Field. The trails themselves are not roads and were not built to withstand vehicle traffic.

All users, particularly authorized vehicles, bikes and horses, are encouraged to avoid wet areas until they dry out.

Summer use sign:

Summer Uses

 

No Unauthorized Motorized Use
Authorized Vehicles must remain on the ROAD

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Absolutely NO

cars, trucks, vans etc. are

allowed on the TRAILS.

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The trails were not built to withstand vehicle traffic.

If you must access a site in the summer,

please use a rubber-tracked, low pressure vehicle.


Allowed uses in the WINTER

Child on skies

Winter Uses in General

Winter uses are more complex and vary by type of trail.

Pedestrians, joggers, and dogs are permitted on the trails shown on Map 5 below. Dogs must be leashed at all times and cleaned up after.

Horses are only permitted on the bike paths west, north and east of campus. Horses are prohibited on all other campus trails in the winter due to the holes they create in the snow.

Skier on trail with dogs

Dogs are prohibited on groomed ski trails in winter (see Map 5 above and Map 6 below).

Skijoring is only allowed on bike paths and the proposed skijoring trails around the fields south of the farm.

Bicycles are prohibited on groomed ski trails. To accommodate bicycle and other non-motorized commuters, a separate "Commuter Trail" will be created just north of the farm and will be open to all non-motorized uses. Bikes are allowed on the bike paths.

Walkers and runners are prohibited on groomed ski trails. The separated trail next to the T-field road will be an experiment to see if pedestrians will respect the ski trails and remain on the separated path.

Adult and child using snowshoes on trail

Snowshoers are permitted on all trails except the groomed classic-only ski trails (see Map 6 above and Map 7 below).

Snowmachines and ATVs are prohibited on all trails and roads in the winter, except in dire emergencies. The Counsel for the UA system and UAF Risk Management consider snowmachines a liability on campus and until their policy is changed, snowmachines & ATVs will be prohibited.

ALL motorized vehicles are prohibited in winter.

No trails are open to vehicles in winter--including research or maintenance vehicles. The Geophysical Institute no longer uses the road from the ski hut to access the satellite dish so they are not affected by this policy. If a research or maintenance vehicle must access a site, they must apply for a "Special Exception" as discussed under Plan Modification and Amendment (see link below).

Others who must access research sites are encouraged to use the pedestrian paths or skis or snowshoes and sleds. If these are not adequate, the trail groomer can assist with the trails snowmachine. If electrical maintenance must be done (and cannot wait for summer), a vehicle such as a Nodwell could be used so that trails will not need to be plowed first. If use of the Rifle Range is essential, 200 feet will NOT be plowed where that road crosses the ski trail.

A few years ago, someone drove to Smith Lake via the T-Field Road in the winter simply to take water samples, when they could have easily accessed the lake from Sheep Creek Road and avoided damaging the trails. This is the type of needless damage we are trying to avoid.


Winter Uses by Type of Trail