Since 1994
Arrowhead Trails, Inc. was created in 1994 to assist agencies, organizations and the private sector in developing and managing sustainable natural surface trails.
Thirty-two years of digging in the dirt
Arrowhead Trails, Inc. was incorporated in Salida, Colorado in October of 1994 to assist agencies, organizations and the private sector in developing and managing sustainable natural surface trails. We specialise in shared-use trails that minimise visitor conflicts and protect natural and cultural resources.
Since then we have consulted on, designed and/or constructed over 500 miles of natural surface, multiple-use trail in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wyoming and Kansas — for municipalities, counties, federal agencies, state parks, ski resorts, non-profit organizations, cattle ranches, land trusts, irrigation companies, river authorities and private landowners.
Our state-of-the-art machinery enhances productivity and decreases trail construction and maintenance costs. By providing a full spectrum of trail services from design through construction, Arrowhead eliminates the liability of hiring seasonal trail crews. The company was the first private company in the world to specialise in SWECO-built trails for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.
What we build for
Natural surface, multiple-use trails for hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians, runners, skiers, snowshoers, climbers, anglers, all-terrain vehicles and physically challenged individuals. We also construct accessible trails that meet the Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines.
Our five commitments on every project
- Promote long-term sustainability
- Maximise your trail budget
- Minimise construction time
- Protect natural and cultural resources
- Minimise visitor conflicts
Little Rainbow Trail, Salida
Chaffee County’s first machine-built trail — five miles on Methodist Mountain, a few minutes from our own front door.
- Incorporated
- October 1994, Salida, Colorado
- Principal
- Danna Lambert, President
- Master plans since
- 1997
- Warranty
- One year, standard, on every design-and-build project
- Member of
- Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA)
- Base
- 11121 County Road 240, Salida, CO 81201
Who actually shows up
A family company. Two of the crew were toddlers when Arrowhead was incorporated and grew up collecting flagging off finished alignments.
Danna Lambert
President & Principal
Danna has owned and managed Arrowhead Trails since October of 1994. She holds a B.S. in Engineering Geology from Texas A&M University and completed 30 hours of graduate coursework in Civil Engineering. She has written numerous trails master plans and run construction projects for the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado State Parks, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, municipalities, homeowners’ associations, ski areas and private landowners. She is also the company’s chief cartographer — GPS field mapping, aerial map interpretation and full-colour map production — and draws her construction experience from actively working on the projects: stake logs, bridge construction, ADA crusher-fine specification, operating equipment and getting dirty with hand tools.
Lee Lambert
Maintenance Supervisor · Carpentry & Crew
Lee grew up skiing, hiking and exploring the White Mountains of New Hampshire and moved to Colorado in 1988. His carpentry, tile and stone-laying skills are what let Arrowhead build the special features — bridges, stone steps and walls, and the designed obstacles that go into pump tracks and skills areas. He has designed numerous trails for the company, and his rock climbing and ski mountaineering background makes him unusually good at route finding.
Taylor Boone
Equipment Operator & Trail Consultant
Taylor has been around Arrowhead Trails since the age of six — the corporation was formed in 1994 and he grew up living and breathing the trail construction lifestyle, operating machinery and travelling with his parents to help with planning, layout and design. He holds a degree in Sustainable Agriculture from Fort Lewis College.
Steve McClung
Equipment Operator
Steve first learned about trails from Holstein cows on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, moved to Colorado at nineteen, and has been a mountain biker and skier ever since. He has been operating heavy equipment since 1991 — snowcats, D-9 bulldozers and excavators — and also enjoys a shovel, a pick or a McLeod.
Troye Boone
Office & Trail Design Assistant
Troye was two years old when Arrowhead Trails was incorporated. Early trips into the woods meant collecting flagging — “clues”, as the family called them — from finished alignments, and she grew up with shovels, McLeods and SWECO talk and an inherent understanding of what it takes to build trail. She has spent countless hours designing trail and handles accounting and bookkeeping in the business office.
The cheapest trail is the one you don’t have to keep fixing
Numerous agencies continue to invest significant labour and money into trails that are not sustainable. Often the sections causing the most problems could be rerouted to sustainable grades in less time than it takes to fix them on an annual basis.
We have turned down trail projects because they simply were not sustainable, and we were not comfortable being involved with a trail that would inevitably create a maintenance nightmare. Our impacts on natural resources should be minimised by good trail design, not made worse by bad design.
Who we belong to and who we back
Arrowhead has supported trail advocacy and professional organisations for as long as the company has existed.
Member of
- Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA)
A Google reviewer notes that Arrowhead Trails was Colorado’s first member of the Professional Trail Builders Association, in 1995.
Supporter of
- International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA)
- American Trails
- National Trails Training Partnership
- Bicycle Colorado
- Bikes Belong
- Salida Mountain Trails
- Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition (COHVCO)
- Creede OHV Group
“Arrowhead Trails is a long time International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) preferred partner. … Arrowhead was a significant contributor to Trail Solutions. It was Arrowhead that provided the foundation and input in the development of our award winning, flagship program, the Subaru IMBA Trail Care Crew.”
“Super solid and talented company. Arrowhead Trails Inc. was Colorado’s first member of the Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA) in 1995. They have been designing and building sustainable trails over three decades. Awesome company to work with!”
5 Google reviews · all five stars