Projects
Baileys Trail Development Plan
Year: 2017 - 2025
Client: Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia/Wayne National Forest/Athens Bicycle Club
Size: 86 miles
Services: Master planning, design, construction documentation, construction management
Applied Trails Research and Kay-Linn collaborated with the Wayne National Forest and Athens Bicycle Club to develop the concept, master plan, field design, and construction management for the 86-mile Baileys Trail System. Envisioned as the first formal mountain bike-focused, shared-use recreational opportunity on the Wayne National Forest and one that would benefit adjacent communities of Chauncey, Nelsonville, and Buchtel from workforce development, quality of life, and recreation-based tourism development perspectives, the team initiated the stakeholder outreach process in 2018.
The Applied Trails Research/Kay-Linn team has managed the trail development as ORCA’s client representative, assisting with project budget planning and bidding, contractor selection, and construction management as the conduit between professional trail building contractors, the Wayne National Forest, Athens Bicycle Club, and ORCA. To date, ORCA and the Forest Service have raised more than $5 million for the trail system build out, as well as additional funds for local sidewalk construction, HockHocking Adena Bikeway connectivity and city park/trailhead development in Chauncy, trailhead development in Nelsonville, and a public-private trailhead development partnership in Buchtel. The project was bestowed the USFS Chief’s Award.
Iron Range Mountain Bike Destinations Development
Year: 2018 - 2021
Client: MN Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation
Size: 75 miles
Services: Master planning, design, construction documentation, permit compliance, construction management
Kay-Linn, with assistance from Applied Trails Research, contracted with the MN Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation to lead the planning, design, permit compliance, and construction management of three mountain bike-focused recreation developments along the mining-impacted Iron Range in northern Minnesota. The project had a rapid three year implementation window in which to utilize the $6 million appropriation. Managing more than 15 crews of regional mountain bike trail construction specialists, the team brought the project to completion on-time and -budget.
The trail systems are located adjacent to small, economically challenged communities that have endured more than 100 years of the boom-bust cycle or iron ore mining. Kay-Linn worked with each community, through town councils and local advocates, to identify community priorities for the trail systems and then worked with the allotted landscapes to realize each communities unique goals. In Cohasset/Grand Rapids, employee recruitment and retention goals led to a 24-mile family-focused Tioga Recreation Area bike park. Chisolm/Hibbing desired increased tourism traffic that would drive local business development, and was paired with the 35-mile, mtb-enthusiast-focused Redhead Bike Park. Biwabik was already experiencing a steady influx of winter visitors, but needed to improve the summer season draw to maintain business solvency. It now has the largest lift-served (100% a-mtb accessible) Giants Ridge bike park with an additional 10 miles of shared-use trails.
In total, the more than 75 miles of trails are meeting the community goals, with visitation increasing, economic diversification, and new business development focused on outdoor recreation.
Trails At Jakes Rocks
Year: 2015 - 2020
Client: Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry
Size: 35 miles
Services: Field design, construction documentation, permitting, construction management
Kay-Linn/ATR provided detailed field design, sediment & erosion control and NPDES permitting, bid solicitation development, and construction management for the 35-mile Trails At Jakes Rocks, located in the Allegheny National Forest in northwest Pennsylvania. While on national forest lands, the project was funded through grants and donations acquired by Warren County as part of their Kinzua Pathways initiative to develop recreation amenities and cultural sites as a means to improve community quality of life and geotourism opportunities for the region whose economy has been subject to the boom-bust cycles of resource extraction.
The project was novel for the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, who had not previously approved their RTP grant funding for construction within a specified corridor rather than a field-staked route, a concession that saved more than $150,000 in design costs. It was also novel for the Allegheny National Forest, which had never collaborated with a community partner to raise all project funds and manage the development of a recreation amenity on their lands. These aspects of the project required confidence from both parties in the effective communication, project management, and quality control of the trail construction.
An economic impact report in 2024 concluded that the trail system is receiving more than 25,000 unique visitors/year, with the average visitor spending more than $360 and a net impact of greater than $9M to the local economy. The project received a USFS- Eastern Region Partnership Award and was recently bestowed the Pennsylvania State Trail of the Year in 2024.
Burn Area Assessment & Trail Redevelopment Plan, CO
Year: 2024 - present
Client: National Forest Foundation
Project Components: Kay-Linn assembled a team of the country’s most respected and talented trail professionals to work with the Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest in assessing the trail damage and redevelopment needs after a series of large scale wildfires and subsequent erosion of the burn-scarred landscape. The project covers more than 450 miles of trails. The recreation access disruption impacts community trail access from Fort Collins to Winter Park, CO, with all manner of trails effected- from Wilderness, to high-use OHV, to Mountain Bike Capital USA- each of which require and offer opportunities for unique and modern redevelopment practices, a rarity on USFS lands.
Eon Park Community Park/Trail Center, KY
Year : 2024 - present
Client: Cincinnati Off-Road Association (CORA)
Project Components: Kay-Linn is collaborating with CORA, the City of Erlanger, a major corporate developer, the sanitation district, and riparian mitigation bank, and local stakeholders to develop a transformative system of community- and corporate-accessible park spaces and trails on steeply sloped private and public lands adjacent to the Ohio River and minutes the Northern Kentucky International Airport. This truly unique partnership will provide shared-use, mountain bike-focused, and broadly accessible trails to a forest planned for extensive non-native restoration, public stewardship, water quality interpretation, and environmental education.
Wasatch Trail Feasibility, UT
Year: 2024-present
Client: Mountain Trails Foundation (MTF)
Project Components: Kay-Linn is actively working with Mountain Trails Foundation, the State of Utah, and local/state/federal land managers to determine the feasibility of a muti-hundred mile shared-use trail system that spans the Wasatch Range. Based on concepts implemented on the Colorado and Arizona Trails, the project could not only provide a world-class, long distance trail experience, but provide a common stewardship tie between developing trail organizations throughout the State.
Southern Ohio Recreation Asset Inventory & Development Plan
Year: 2023 - present
Client: Outdoor Recreation Coalition of Appalachia (ORCA)
Project Components: Kay-Linn is working with ORCA, state, and county partners to develop improved outdoor recreation access and quality across a 17-county region of Appalachian Ohio. Beset by decades of boom-bust cycles of resource extraction and persistent poverty but blessed with topography, forests, and rivers that can support expansive outdoor recreation, the project endeavors to create a collaborative plan for ORCA and the counties/municipalities to improve the quality, quantity, diversity, and accessibility of outdoor recreation access to improve community health, quality of life, property value, workforce and entrepeneurial opportunities throughout the mostly rural region.
Trails At Mena Conceptual Plan, AR
Year: 2022
Client: Arkansas Recreation And Parks Association
Project Components: Kay-Linn, working collaboratively with Applied Trails Research and the SE Group, worked with USFS, state, local, and non-profit leaders to provide a conceptual plan for a 100-mile trail system on Rich Mountain in the Ouachita National Forest. The plan determined feasible, direct connectivity to downtown Mena, Arkansas, a community-adjacent 15-mile shared-use trail system, an 85-mile system of downhill and backcountry trails, and shuttle/lift access points that would become the country’s first four-season mountain bike resort on USFS land.
Chattahoochee National River and Recreation Area Trail System Assessment and Redevelopment Plan, GA
Year : 2018 - 2020
Client: National Park Service- Chattahoochee NRRA, Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy, and Trust for Public Land
Project Components: Working under an existing IDIQ agreement with Lord-Aek Sargeant, Applied Trails Research and Kay-Linn provided stakeholder engagement, field-based assessment, and redevelopment design of the 85-mile hiking trail system spread through 14 National Park Service units in north metro Atlanta. Originally a socially developed system focused on historic open trail corridors with now significant sustainability and connectivity issues, the redevelopment plan provides for resource-protecting sustainable train corridors, multiple new accessible trail opportunities, and connectivity to regional paved and aggregate-surfaced trails to increase accessibility, reduce trailhead parking stresses, and better protect water quality in the Chattahoochee National River corridor.
Duluth Traverse Trail System Master/Mgt. Plan, MN
Year: 2017
Client: City of Duluth, MN
Project Components: Working with Confluence Design, Kay-Linn provided trail system experiential assessment, neighborhood connectivity, issues-opportunities, and gap analysis services, along with numerous in-person, community forum, and on-line stakeholder outreach to frame the completion of the Duluth Traverse Trail System, a 100-mile mountain bike-focused natural surface singletrack trail system connecting Duluth from east to west through all the City’s major parks. Also provided trail operations and management planning documentation to align the resources of the City and the trail system’s primary on-the-ground stewardship force- the Cyclists and Gitchee Gumee Shores and their community partners. The trail system has already been named as one of three (internationally) Gold Level Ride Centers by the International Mountain Bicycling Association and the plan received an award from the MN Association of Landscape Architecture.
Photo Credit: Hansi Johnson
St. John Trail System, US Virgin Islands National Park
Year Completed: 2016
Client: National Park Service
Project Components: Working with Applied Trails Research, Kay-Linn provided detailed field design for trail redevelopment to increase accessibility to St. John’s beautiful beaches and mountain tops and position the island as the preeminent ecotourism destination in the Caribbean. The project was initiated with a road-to-trail redesign to create a barrier-free, intimate, sustainable, and accessible hiking route for visitors to access Salomon and Honeymoon Beaches from the Park Service Visitor Center at the port of Cruz Bay.
Whiterock Conservancy Trail System, IA
Year Completed: 2012-2016
Client: Whiterock Conservancy
Project Components: Kay-Linn and Applied Trails Research provided detailed field design and construction supervision for 22-miles of trail developed to highlight conservation practices at Whiterock, improve community quality of life, and provide trail destination-related economic activity. The project included 17 miles of mountain bike-optimized singletrack and five miles of aggregate-surfaced woodland trails, with shorter, family-friendly loops adjacent to campgrounds and key cultural interpretation areas and longer, backcountry-style loops that traverse the Conservancy’s restored oak savannah, tall grass prairie, and the Middle Raccoon River valley. Workin with Confluence, developed construction specifications, cost estimation, and bidding assistance, and oversaw construction of the system over the course of four months.
Organization Management and Growth Strategy
Years: 2016-2023 (Kay-Linn); 2023- present (staff)
Client: The Professional TrailBuilders Association (PTBA) is the trade association for the trail industry, representing private sector companies who plan, design and build trails worldwide.
Project Components: PTBA contracted with Kay-Linn in 2016 to administer the organization and implement the annual conference. After four years of growing the organization's impact and revenue, Aaryn Kay was named the Executive Director in 2020 and transitioned to a staff role in 2023.
Non-Profit Management Projects
Community Trail Development Plan
Year Completed: 2023 -present
Client: ORA Trails is a non-profit organization in La Crosse, WI, dedicated to building happy, healthy, and resilient communities by providing access to equitable and sustainable outdoor recreation experiences.
Project Components: Working with ORA Board to create and implement strategies to lower community barriers to accessing outdoor recreation, environmental education, and land stewardship opportunities to activate the Community Trail Farm, a 275-acre, undeveloped property purchased by the organization.
Community Engagement, Capital Campaign and Master Planning
Year Completed: 2022
Client: WinMan is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization offering professionally managed trails including biking, skiing, hiking, snowshoeing as well as a community gathering space.
Project Components: Assisted WinMan non-profit Board and Staff to evaluate and strategically plan improvements to its 35-mile, 4-season trail system and transition from a large donor to a community-supported and -centered Base Camp for inclusive outdoor recreation and events through strategic communication and capital campaign.
Strategic Trail Plan
Year Completed: 2017
Client: Headwaters Trails Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and enhancing trails in scenic Grand County, Colorado.
Project Components: Working collaboratively with the HTA Board, Grand County, multiple municipalities, USFS, BLM, and local stakeholders, the plan set in motion the rapid growth and capacity of the county-wide trail support organization, helping turn a $275k/year budget into a $2M/year multi-program trail support non-profit.
Fundraising, Evaluation and Administration
Year Completed: 2012 - present
Client: New Horizons Cooperative Preschool is bilingual and cooperative preschool that serves Boulder's most vulnerable children. Each year, 50% of students speak Spanish as their first or only language and more than 50% are from immigrant families.
Project Components: Kay-Linn has supported New Horizons since 2012 with services in: fundraising; HR and organization policy; evaluation and reporting.
Development and Communications Systems and Implementation
Years: 2017 - 2023
Client: Cal-Wood Education Center
Cal-Wood Education Center is a non-profit environmental and outdoor education organization based in Jamestown, CO.
Project Components: Kay-Linn developed systems for development and communications including two capital campaigns, one peer-to-peer campaign, organization wide tracking to support development and communications, grant writing, submittals and reporting, and a community engagement strategy with a new email marketing system and website.