In the age of smartphones, GPS apps, and social media, finding somewhere new to ride has never been easier—or more complicated. A quick scroll through Facebook can turn up a shared GPX track, a pinned location, or a video clip of an unfamiliar route in the woods. To many riders, a line on a screen looks just like any other trail.
In a recent article titled “You Can’t Unmap a Trail,” trail planner Mark Barsevskis takes a deep look at how open spatial data, heatmaps, and social media are reshaping outdoor recreation. While his piece focuses on mountain biking in British Columbia, every lesson applies directly to Manitoba’s off-road vehicle (ORV) community.
As Barsevskis puts it: “Mapped does not mean sanctioned, popular does not mean authorized, and Crown land does not mean free-for-all.”
Crown Land Is Shared Land—Not Nobody’s Land
A common misconception in outdoor recreation is that Crown land is an open sandbox where anyone can cut a route or follow an unverified track. In reality, Crown land is a complex, shared landscape layered with ecological sensitivities, wildlife habitats, watersheds, private property boundaries, other recreational users, and Indigenous rights and cultural values.
When riders follow informal lines off a social media share—or create unplanned “ride-arounds” to bypass a muddy section—the damage adds up quickly. One unauthorized track soon branches into multiple connectors, leading to severe erosion, altered drainage patterns, and fragmented wildlife habitat. Beyond the environmental toll, unmanaged riding creates land-use conflicts that put public access at risk for the entire ORV community.
Sustainable Trails Are Infrastructure, Not Just Dirt
There is a massive difference between a random track uploaded to a GPS app and a designated, sustainable trail system. As Barsevskis points out, trails are real infrastructure. They require proper water management, bridges, clear signage, hazard inspections, emergency access planning, and ongoing upkeep.
Building a sanctioned trail does not happen with a few friends on a Saturday afternoon. Responsible trail development requires upfront planning, environmental reviews, consultation with Indigenous Nations, and formal agreements with municipalities and provincial land managers. Moreover, every new kilometre of trail stretches limited maintenance funding and volunteer capacity even thinner. Protecting the future of riding in Manitoba means focusing on well-planned, sustainable networks—and maintaining them properly—rather than constantly pushing into sensitive areas.
How Manitoba Riders Can Make a Difference
Keeping Manitoba’s trails open, safe, and sustainable takes effort from all of us. Here is how every rider can help protect our riding future:
• Stick to Designated Trails: Before heading out, verify your route using official resources like the ATV Manitoba Trails Map app or official club trail maps so you know you are riding on sanctioned, insured, and maintained trails.
• Think Twice Before Sharing Tracks: Avoid posting, sharing, or following unverified GPX files from Facebook groups or third-party apps that lead onto private property, sensitive ecosystems, or unauthorized routes.
• Work With Your Local Club: Real, lasting trail access happens when riders work together through organized groups. ATVMB and our affiliated clubs across Manitoba partner directly with rural municipalities, the Province of Manitoba, and land managers to plan, build, sign, and steward legitimate multi-use trail systems. Joining a club—or volunteering for a trail cleanup—gives you a direct hand in shaping sustainable riding opportunities.
A digital line on a phone screen is easy to draw, but building a trail system that stands the test of time takes planning, partnership, and respect for the land. To explore these ideas further, we encourage all riders to read Mark Barsevskis’s full piece, “You Can’t Unmap a Trail,” and join us in keeping Manitoba’s trails healthy for generations to come.
“You Can’t Unmap a Trail: What Open Data Is Telling Us About Trail Planning”
https://markbarsevskis.substack.com/p/you-cant-unmap-a-trail
