In the Trail Clean-up series, volunteers pick up the trail tools and help to keep trails in shape for mountain bikers and hikers. The campaign was launched in 2021 by Joanne Muoser, Bike Product Manager at St. Gotthard, and is intended not only to maintain the trails, but also to promote coexistence between bikers and hikers. "On these days, trail users such as mountain bikers and hikers grab rakes and shovels together. Long-established hikers meet die-hard mountain bikers who are critical of each other at the beginning, but sit together until late at the end of the day and have good conversations," says Muoser, who is also pleased with the interpersonal successes.

Trail maintenance under expert guidance

In the first Trail Clean up 2022, 19 volunteers set off on the trails together with the team from Obergoms Tourismus AG and Forst Goms. The common goal; to make the Goms hiking and biking trails fit for the summer. After an introduction to bike and hiking trail maintenance by the Goms forestry team, the trails were cleared of waste wood, leaves, needles and loose stones or drainage was optimized.

This was also the case in Disentis and Sedrun, where 14 volunteers got to work on the trails with hand tools. Together with the Sedrun Disentis Tourism team, the municipality of Disentis and St. Gotthard Bike in Sedrun, water drains were cleared, overgrown borders removed and vegetation trimmed on the trails.

The three-part series includes the Obergoms and Disentis regions, where the trail clean-ups have already taken place, as well as Bellinzona e Valli, where the last trail clean-up will take place in the fall of 2022. So far, more than 15 sections of trail have been cleaned up by hand in these regions.