Find YOUR path
ASCENT
Accessibility Scales for Characterizing Easy Natural Trails
A rating system that allows people with disabilities to choose the best path or trail tailored to their individual abilities and goals for better health and quality of life,.​​
Builds on Federal Standards defining Universal Access Trails and Shared Use Paths. Read more.
Simple, reliable, meaning-ful & evolving scales help walkers find the trail right for them. Read more.
Focuses on easier natural trails, those that people with disabilities might first use to connect with nature. Read more.
Helps meet goals for health & quality of life in our research-based Progressive Access framework. Read more.
Separates Effort from Stress to help people with disabilities get fit on paved paths before trying natural trails. Read more.
Helps park managers and funders prioritize trail & other improvements to increase access. Read more.
Defines sources of Trail Stress that challenge the capacities of people, depending on their disability. Read more.
Can complement other trail system ratings that simply do not work for people with disabilities. Read more.
ASCENT builds on Federal Accessibility Standards
I reference Universal Access (UA) standards across this site when describing all Shared Use Paths and Universal Access (UA) Trails. These are based on the summary provided in Trails for All People (see right), with specific page references. These guidelines review issues related to accessibility on these paths and trails. Text offered below and elsewhere on the site is intended to quickly orient users to general principles. Readers are encouraged to review the manual while those seeking to build Shared Use Paths or UA trails MUST rely on experienced trail designers and builders.
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​​​​ASCENT builds on the specific features captured in the UA standards: Cross-Grade, Combined Running Grade, Width, Surface, and Obstacles.
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​ASCENT also builds on the specific thresholds captured in the standards:
A specific feature rated as
A+ Exceeds the UA standard
A Meets the UA standard
A- Falls just short of the UA standard for limited sections of the trail
B Falls just short of one or more UA standards for longer sections
C Clearly fails to meet the UA standard
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ASCENT helps people with disabilities begin to access natural trails for better health and quality of life
ASCENT is developed primarily to help people with disabilities build from first experiences walking paved paths to then begin to explore easy natural (e.g., dirt and grass) trails. Why? Because such trails
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Can eventually help people with disabilities become more confident on a broader range of trails
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Are more likely than paved paths to connect people with disabilities to more beautiful natural places that increase the quality of life
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Can often be found in many more places, making them easier to access to meet daily exercise goals
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Can be created at a fraction of the cost of paved paths, significant increasing overall capacity with a modest investment.
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For every mile of paved path, we believe there are 2-3 miles of natural trails that could be made more useable to people with disabilities, with minor improvements
ASCENT separates Trail Effort from Trail Stress to help people with disabilities begin by building their fitness
We know that Margot will take longer to walk the Oversee Farm Trail compared to a flat path of the same length, because of the grades
The level of fitness required to complete a walk - the Trail Effort - is determined by the
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Length of the walk, and
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Any slopes (Running Grades) they encounter (​ratings of Running Grade are detailed elsewhere)
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Why focus first on Trail Effort?
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It can be reliably predicted (e.g., a trail that is twice as long likely takes twice the effort to complete).
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It probably does not vary as much in people with disabilities (e.g., a trail that is twice as long will be twice as hard for anyone regardless of disability)
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We can confidently set goals to increase fitness by choosing trails based on their length and (to a less degree) on the types of Running Grades​.
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Walks on paved paths are a great way for people with disabilities to
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Improve their physical health, by setting goals to Get Moving and Get Fit, and to
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Prepare them for their first walks on natural trails that can begin to improve their quality of life.
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ASCENT captures the Stress that people with disabilities experience on natural trails
Trail Stress is the discomfort we experience or barriers we encounter while walking a natural trail. The amount of stress depends our capacity and confidence to navigate specific features that vary significantly across trails - e.g., Cross-Grades, Width, Surface, Obstacles, and steeper Running Grades.
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Our capacity will vary depending on the nature of our disability, and the strength and skills we have developed to compensate
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Our confidence will depend on the positive experiences we have had walking similar trails ​​​​​
A Trail Barrier is a feature that a person with a disability cannot overcome, or only with great difficulty (see right)
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Example: A wheelchair user faced with stairs. ​​
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Barriers prevent a person from continuing their walk.​
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Margot will not want to hike if her feet are wet, so this stream crossing on the Lower Octararo Trail at Glenroy Preserve becomes a barrier
Margot can navigate rocks and roots, like these on Flint Hill Preserve. But these obstacles (rated A-) increase her stress and slow her down.
​​​​​A Trail Stressor is a feature that a person with a disability finds difficult but not impossible to navigate (see left)​​
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Example: 3" high rocks that a person with low vision must take care to step around and not trip on.
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Stressors make a walk less comfortable; enough may make a walk so uncomfortable that someone with a disability does not complete it or never returns to it.
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​By characterizing some trail features as stressors, and by recognizing the strength and skills needed to navigate them, we begin to see how some people with disabilities may set goals to build their capacity to walk trails that are technically inaccessible (e.g., exceed UA standards).
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Walks on easy natural trails are a great way for people with disabilities to:
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Improve not only their physical health but also their quality of life, helping them to connect with so many more beautiful and peaceful places in nature, and;
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Progress through specific goals (associated Stress rating), like Testing Stressors (A-), Building Capacity (B), and Getting More Adventurous (C). This helps them to to explore even more trails, become even more fit, and experience even more nature.
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These long sections of obstacles build Margot's capacity, bringing her to a peaceful spot in White Clay Creek Preserve she might otherwise not reach.
Trails in Stateline Woods vary in terms of types and levels of stress, allowing Margot to choose one that can build her capacity without too much stress
ASCENT helps each person to find the trail just right for them
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Separate ratings for each feature (Cross- & Running Grade, Width, Surface, and Obstacles), help each person identify which feature(s) they find stressful
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Carefully graded stress levels - A-, B, and C - within each feature help each person choose a difficulty level that matches their current capacity and confidence
ASCENT uses simple, reliable, and meaningful ratings that will evolve and expand over time
​​This rating system is anchored in features recognized as important to people with disabilities (e.g., Running & Cross-Grades, Width, Surface, and Obstacles).
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Most of the features referenced here are are simple and reliable - e.g., we can readily agree on the trail's width
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The standard for accessibility here is meaningful - e.g., an A Rating is consistent with UA Standards, the baseline recognized as facilitating access for all users. ​
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Through my experience helping to develop manuals for other popular scales in the field of Autism, I know how to design rating scales that can be widely and reliably adopted.
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Width is a simple, reliable, and meaningful rating for a device like this adaptive stroller. The gaps between trees on the Whitley Farm Loop is never less than 32", ensuring that Margot can just squeeze through.
By setting goals and working gradually towards them, Margot can become more comfortable on more trails, increasing access to special places
Ratings guide the development of goals supporting individualized and incremental improvement for people with disabilities​​​​
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Goals related to fitness (Get Moving and Get Fit) requires choosing paths that are longer and/or have more challenging Combined Running Grades but with Stress rated A- or better.
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Building capacity and confidence requires choosing trails with increasing levels of Trail Stress (from A to A- to B) in specific features of interest.
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The thresholds for increasing levels of Trail Stress are selected to help people with disabilities take their first steps on natural trails.
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​​Ratings that will evolve through pilot work,
increasing the miles and range of trails identified
Rating scales are gradually developed through phases demonstrating their reliability, feasibility and usefulness in a targeted region (i.e., Chester County).
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A first phase identifying paved paths at least one mile long across the county that likely meet UA standards is almost complete, suggesting gaps in access that improved natural trails can help to close
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A second phase identifying paths at least one-half mile long across the county will establish a baseline for tracking growth in usability: the number of miles of paths/trails meeting UA standards
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A third phase piloting the ASCENT system on A- trails will provide data on the reliability of the ratings and ​​screen existing trails for inclusion in a preliminary guide​​​
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A fourth phase combining the results of the first 3 plus another survey of other accessible park features will help create the first Chester County Outdoor Access Guide for more widespread distribution, and more detailed planning.
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This opening at PennDell Trail is 1/2 inches too narrow to accommodate a wheelchair, barring users from a walk that otherwise meets all standards.
ASCENT can help plan successful hikes when considered together with Goals, Supports, and Conditions
ASCENT is a key tool for people with disabilities who want to begin can be considered together with other factors (Goals, Comfort, Supports, and Conditions) to plan a successful walk all year-round
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The system used in Australia's parks (see right) also addresses whether wayfinding skills may be needed.
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Helps to Build the Fitness, Skills, and Confidence needed to reach our Goals
My approach to trail rating is based on 3 principles
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People with disabilities like Margot have different levels of skills and confidence, depending on their particular disability.
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Our fitness, skills, and confidence can grow with experience.
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We look for trails not only based on our fitness, skills, and experience, but also on our goals.
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We therefore need a trail rating system that allows people with disabilities to choose a path or trail based on our own particular level of fitness, skills, and confidence, so that we can set and meet goals to increase these.
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I honed the model integrating Effort/Fitness and Stress/Skills, and then setting Goals to build Confidence when teaching Margot how to ski​​​​
ASCENT can help guide improvements to increase access for people with disabilities
ASCENT offers a low cost way to significantly increase the number of miles of usable trails for health and quality of life
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It can help park managers to identify trails they might already have or could easily improve to increase access for those with mobility challenges
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It can help regional leaders set priorities to close gaps in access to nature at a reasonable cost​​
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This is especially important for people with disabilities and other conditions that limit their mobility, a population often underserved by our parks and at high risk for related health problems
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When we map access to paths that support regular walks for fitness, we discover gaps that increasing the useability of natural trails can help to close
ASCENT supplements existing rating systems that just do not work for people with disabilities
Some rating systems span a very wide range of difficulty, and do not offer finer distinctions important to those with mobility challenges. ​Other rating systems not only span a very wide range of lengths, but they also confound length (Effort) and difficulty (Stress).
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In the 5 point system described by the National Park Service, Level 5 includes hikes 5-8 miles long with steep inclines that would be "challenging for an unconditioned person".
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The system used in Australia's parks (see right) also addresses whether wayfinding skills may be needed.
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Other ratings like those adopted by Pennsylvania (p. 12) and pictured to the right include more descriptors relevant to those with mobility challenges but may still be too vague.
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Many systems also ignore the kinds of paths found in local parks, which can be so helpful for people with disabilities who just want to Get Moving.
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Other Sources of Confusion
Trail builders must comply with federal accessibility standards only "to the extent practicable"
In practice, this means that Multi-Use and Walking Paths are permitted to exceed allowable grades because of the terrain, like in the example listed below. When only local or private funds to build these paths and trails have no obligation to adhere to accessibility standards. In practice, the high cost of multi-use paths means that states, counties, and municipalities must rely on federal dollars (including pass-through grants to states and counties), and so they must strive to comply with these standards.​
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CASE STUDY The descent from Alapocas Drive into Brandywine Park in the westernmost section of the Northern Delaware Greenway includes more than 160' of difficult downhill grades (up to 20%) that would make this uncomfortable for many cyclists and all but the most experienced wheelchair users. You can see this in the grades to the left, with each dot marking a 10' section, and dark blue indicating difficult downhill grades. Like many shared use paths, no resting intervals are provided.
A trail meeting full accessibility standards is not always an easy one
A trail does not have to be uniformly flat to meet UA standards. A path with Running Grades rated as A can have uphill section of any length as long as these do not exceed 5%. It can have uphill sections of 5-8.33% for up to 30', and uphill sections of 8.33-10% for up to 10'. And it can have any number of these as long as there are resting intervals in between. These can all increase Trail Effort.
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Even a path with Running Grades rated as A+ can require effort! This beautiful 600' boardwalk section of the Jack Markell Trail complies with standards for shared use paths because it never exceeds a 5% grade. Nonetheless, its length would make it difficult - and potentially stressful - for less experienced or fit users.
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