08/30/2026
Briar Chapel Trail Update — August 2026
Briar Chapel wrapped up a busy summer on the trails. Here's what happened across July and August.
By the numbers
* 30+ signs installed
* 7+ trees cleared
* 4 event maps created
* 1+ mile trimmed
* 1 washout repaired
* 1 trail construction project completed
* 1 trail event, 100+ attendees
Regular trail work
Storms don't care what's on the calendar. Thank you to everyone who came out to our July and August workdays:
* Tree clearing. Several storms blew through and dropped trees of all sizes. Our sawyers cleared them safely.
* Washout repair. Also courtesy of the storms — we repaired a washout on AVID using locally sourced dirt and rock. Thank you Christopher!
* Trimming. Herndon Loop and Catullo Run both grow shut fast. Thank you TJ for tackling a good chunk of Herndon, and Chris for the rest.
* Signage. Bennett and Herndon are now in line with the rest of the system. Only the skills park is left. Thank you Will!
Redesign Festival
On top of the regular maintenance, we spent the past month preparing for the Briar Chapel Redesign Festival - a celebration of the redesigned Bennett Mountain, Herndon Loop, and Catullo Run. We couldn’t have made it happen without the support of our volunteers, partners, and the Briar Chapel Community Association.
We were nervous about the 1.5" of rain the night before, and the trails shrugged it off - the erosion and drainage work of the last two years doing exactly what it was built to do. We hosted at the intersection of Bennett Mountain and Herndon Loop, where 100+ trail users rode the new trails with us after breakfast. Great turnout, great atmosphere, and we'd like to make this a regular thing.
Nature Trails is done!
Nature Trails has wrapped up their work on Bennett, bringing the project to completion. That's the last of the planned contractor work at Briar Chapel for 2026. A huge thank you to their crew — Clay in particular, out there all day every day — and to the trail users and residents who respected the work areas and gave the crew room to work.
Want to help?
Trimming is where we need hands most. The drought has slowed plant growth and bought us some breathing room, but they are coming back in force. There are several sections of trail that could use attention.
Next workday: Saturday, September 19th, 9am–noon. If Saturdays don't work for you, reach out and we'll work with your availability - [email protected] , reply to this post, or reach out to the Briar Chapel Trail Coordinators. We ask folks to check in with us first so we can coordinate and track hours. That information matters for planning, budgeting, and showing what our volunteers bring to the table.
If you've been out on the new Bennett, Catullo, or Herndon, we'd love to hear what you think.
