Trails are line features in the Statewide Trails Database that describe the location of single and multi-use trails, access trails, connector trails, and regional trails. These features may also describe bike routes along public roads and their relationship with connecting multi-use paved trails used for walking, running, inline-skating, and bicyling, for example. Trail features describe hiking trails, nature trails, bike routes, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible trails such as certain walkways, boardwalks and stone dust surfaced trails.

Individual trail features are described in terms of their surface type (unpaved, paved, unpaved road, paved road, etc.) and whether activities such as hiking, walking, running, inline skating, bicycling, mountain biking, motorbiking, all terraine vehicle use, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding are permitted. Also indicates whether leashed or unleashed dogs are allowed.

To facilitate the management and sharing of information for trail mapping, management, planning, and information dissemination purposes. 

Statewide Trails Database model version number 1.0. Refer to the Getting_Started.htm document for how to prepare and load existing trail data into the Statewide Trails Database format. A Statewide Trails extension (statewidetrails.avx) is also available for ArcView 3x software for creating identical field attributes in Shapefile format. The extension is useful in preparing data initially collected and maintained in Shapefile format for loading into GeoDatabase Feature Class format.

publication date

None. The data is in the public domain and may be redistributed.

No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data. Trail line feature information was prepared by collecting trail positions in the field using GPS equipment, digitizing trail maps, compiling information onto a planimetric correct base and digitizing, or by copying previously digitized road and trail centerline features. Horizontal accuracy varies depending on the methodology used to map and digitize each trail system. Consequently, as a whole, these data are generally not intended for maps printed at scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet). Refer to the Horizontal Accuracy Notes attribute in the Trail line feature and Roadway line feature class for more specific horizontal accuracy assessments when mapping individual trail systems at larger (more accurate) scales. Trail Access point and Trail Interest point feature information was prepared using similar methods, with horizontal accuracy varying accordingly. Although this data set has been used by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as to the accuracy of the data and or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials. The user assumes the entire risk related to the use of these data. Once the data is distributed to the user, modifications made to the data by the user should be noted in the metadata. The State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and all other Originators (referenced in the Citation section of this metadata), should be acknowledged as the data source in products derived from the trail data. For example, include the following data source description on a map: Trails - From the Connecticut Statewide Trails layer, compiled and published by CT DEEP and other trail data collecting agencies and organizations. Source map scale varies.

Table Relationships:

1. Trail line features are joined to the Trail_System table via the TrailSysId field.

Attributes:

1. Trail System Id - Uniquely identifies a logical system of trails and is a common identifier found in all tables. All Trail line, Trail Access point, Trail Interest point, and Roadway line features for a given Trail System are assigned the same Trail System Id. An agency or organization wishing to provide trail data for inclusion in the Connecticut Statewide Trails Database must use Trail System Ids assigned by the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection so that they do conflict with Trail System Ids used by other trail data providers. Please contact the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at 860-424-3540 to obtain a block of Trail Systems Ids for your use. Trail System Ids are allocated to data providers in blocks of 50. 

2. Field Types - Most fields are text fields except for Trail System Id (TrailSysId) and the Town Number (TownNo) field in the Trail Access Point feature class.

3. Text Fields - Most fields without domains are free-form text fields. Depending on the field, certain rules and conventions need to be applied when entering data in these fields. For example, the Trail Marker (TrailMark) field in the Trail line feature class is to be left blank if a trail is not marked. Do not populate the field with the words "unmarked" or "unblazed", for example. Leave all free-form text fields blank if information is not applicable.

4. Field Domain Range - Attribute domains represent a fixed list of values to choose from for a particular field. Domain values are case sensitive text field values that must be entered exactly as specified in the metadata enumerated domains. For example the Bike attribute uses a true-false domain that stores text information as either "True" or "False", not "TRUE" or "FALSE"; "true" or "false"; "yes" or "no", or 0 or -1, etc. Any value other than "True" or "False" is invalid, with the exception of the NULL option, which is a field value that is only available to data in GeoDatabase and not Shapefile format. Adhering to domain values is important to keep in mind when using the field Calculate option in ArcView 3x or ArcGIS 9x to assign domain attribute values to selected features at once. It is easy to inadvertently calculate values outside the range of a field's domain.

5. Default Values - The default domain values for each field is indicated in the metadata for the field such as "True" for the Hiking or "Unpaved" for the Trail Surface (TrailSurf) field in the Trail line feature class. These are the default values when adding new table records or digitizing new features.

6. Null Field Values - For fields with enumerated domains in GeoDatabase format, NULL is a valid domain value that can be used to signify information is unknown. NULL implies that the information is Unknown. It does not imply that the information is not applicable. 

7. Null Field Values (Shapefile format) - For fields with enumerated domains in Shapefile format, NULL is not a valid value so do not enter NULL or "NULL" even though NULL is allowed in GeoDatabase format. For data in Shapefile, leave the field blank if the value is unknown.

Line features that describe the location of single and multi-use trails, access trails, connector trails, regional trails, and bike routes.

State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and other trail data collecting agencies and organizations in Connecticut.

Trail line features are very simple line features that connect to each other at their end points. Line features are expected to conform to the following topological rules. Lines are single part. There are no duplicate lines. Lines do not self overlap. Lines do not overlap other lines. Lines intersect only at nodes, and nodes anchor the ends of all lines. Lines do not overshoot or undershoot other lines they are supposed to meet and intersect.

For example, a trail intersection is composed of four intersecting trail features that share a common end point location where the four features meet and intersect. A "T" intersection is composed of three intersecting trail features that share a common end point.

Between intersections, a change in condition along the length of a trail is also reason for creating separate Trail line features where two features are necessary to describe where an unpaved trail changes to a stone dust surface, for example.

Individual Trail features connect to each other, forming a fishnet of trails that together form larger trail systems. By using the trail feature attributes, these features indicate where trail class, trail surface, and trail use conditions changes such as when an unpaved trail only used for hiking intersects or crosses a multi-use trail on an unpaved road used for hiking and mountain biking, or where selected portions of more than one trail together define a trail for where snowmobiling is permitted.

Trail line features do not duplicate or overlap in parallel to Roadway line features. 

Establishment of logical consistency was performed by the respective data collector (agencies) responsible for manually creating and controlling feature topology in either Shapefile or GeoDatabase format. No automated procedures or tests were performed to guarantee desired topology other than visual inspection.

IMPORTANT - Trails may overlap in some instances. Since trail systems interconnect and the "master" copy of the Statewide Trails Database is to include trail system data submitted by different data providers, there will be instances where the same section of trail is represented twice where a trail from one system passes through and is considered part of another system. For example, this is common where portions of a regional trail system such as a Connecticut Blue-Blazed Hiking Trail are also part of a system of trails at a state forest. This exception to Lines do not overlap other lines rule allows trail data collectors and providers to map trail systems as complete and discrete units. Ideally, over time, a certain level of coordination and trail data sharing will ensure that these overlapping coincident features have the same geometry (shape).

As complete as data is collected by data collectors and supplied by data providers to the Statewide Trails Database. Because it is designed to include more and more information over time, the Statewide Trails Database does not represent a complete inventory of all greenways, trails, and bike routes. Rather, it is intended to be a Statewide repository of currently available information.

All attributes have valid values. Values are within defined domains. Accuracy tests performed by data collector and data provider.

Horizontal accuracy varies depending on the methodology used by data collectors to compile, map and digitize individual trail systems. Information was prepared by collecting trail positions in the field using GPS equipment, digitizing trail maps, compiling information onto a planimetric correct base and digitizing, or by copying previously digitized road and trail centerline features.

A conservative estimate of overall horizontal accuracy is based on the assumption that Trail line feature data is generally collected at scales that are at least as accurate as 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet), which is the scale of the USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle map. But this is only an assumption on the part of the State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), which coordinated the design of the Statewide Trails Database. For example, GPS data collected by CT DEEP is generally expected to be at 1-4m accuracy, data interpreted and digitized from 2004 aerial photographs at +- 20ft, and data derived from 1:24,000-scale road and trail centerlines at +- 40ft.

Refer to the Horizontal Accuracy Notes attribute in both the Trail line feature and Roadway line feature classes for more specific horizontal accuracy assessments when mapping individual trail systems at larger (more accurate) scales. This field describes the data collection method, data sources and horizontal accuracy of the individual line feature, based on the type of equipment and environmental conditions present if GPS was used to collect information in the field, or the horizontal accuracy of geo-referenced aerial photographs, maps, and existing road data upon which digitized trail features are based.

Connecticut Statewide Trails Database

Geographic information sytem (GIS), computer-aided drawing or other mapping software is necessary to display, view and access the information.

The data distributor does not provide custom GIS analysis or mapping services. Data is available in a standard format and may be converted to other formats, projections, coordinate systems, or selected for specific geographic regions by the party receiving the data.