Czech Republic Hiking Markers System
The Czech Republic has one of the densest trail networks in the world so it is no wonder why they have a well-designed hiking markers system to help hikers navigate the trails.The Czech Hiking Markers Standard is a hiking trail marking system used throughout the Czech Republic and other European countries for hikers, cyclists, skiers and horseback riding individuals. The design was originally created by the Czech Hiking Club in 1889 and has been maintained by the club ever since. The club is responsible for all tourist trails found in the Czech Republic ensuring the safety of tourists using the trails as means for travel or recreational activities. Their system is so successful that it has expanded to neighboring countries, such as: Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia, Poland, Ukraine and even as far as Peru and Brazil. The system is low cost and easy to implement requiring basic materials for the markers. It is also easy to understand which means hikers are at a reduced risk of becoming lost on the trail. This system could provide inspiration for a new wayfinding design with our nation’s parks.
The Czech Hiking Club was founded in 1888 and is responsible for the design of the trail system, as well as, maintaining all trails found throughout the Czech Republic. The club is separated into different sections all responsible for their own part of the system. These sections include: hiking, cycling, skiing, cross-country hiking, horse riding, and modern hiking to name a few. On their website, each section has a point of contact so that users may communicate with someone about a specific section. In the United States, the National Parks System is responsible for maintaining the conditions of the trails located within our nation’s parks. According to the National Parks System website, in the 1970’s many of the trails in our national parks saw an increase in visitors which resulted in trail erosion. The managers of the parks struggled to maintain the trails and many of them turned to local communities for assistance. They partnered with volunteers, state-run conservation groups, and non-profit organizations to keep the trails in good hiking condition. Today, they continue to rely on these groups to help maintain the trails, meaning, they would also be responsible for maintaining any new wayfinding system designed for our nation’s parks.
Group of youth from Young Conservation Corps working on trail project with our NPS
The design of the Czech Hiking Markers Standard is simple and easy to understand serving as an international system that can communicate across language barriers. Trails are marked with a simple square composed on three stripes called a belt mark. The first and last stripes are white, which surround a middle stripe of color, communicate specific information about the trail. The middle stripe is either red, blue, green or yellow. The red stripe is used for long distance routes, the blue stripe is for connecting routes to prominent places, the green stripe is for additional routes and the yellow stripe is for short connecting routes. The system uses directional arrows in place of the middle stripe at decision points along the trail to indicate the direction for the hiker. These stripes come in many different forms and are often painted onto natural elements (rocks, trees, etc.). Some of the belt marks are posted on signs, especially in urban areas. Often times, where multiple trails meet there will be a multicolor tag with arrows and stripes indicating which direction to take for that color trail. At a trailhead, a hiker would find multiple yellow informational signs fixed to a post. Each sign includes the name of the trail and duration it would take to complete the hike. The sign also includes the belt mark and a directional arrow. The posts have a red tent-like roof for ease of recognition at a distance. At the end of the trails there is an end mark, a simple square with a smaller square in the middle, the same color as the middle stripe of that trail. This sign will be accompanied with other signs that might indicate a lookout point, castle ruins or other interesting objects.
Two trail marker signs fixed to a stump along a trail in the Czech Republic
The skiing trail signs in the Czech Republic are the same as the hiking trails signs with only one slight difference, the color of the outside stripes are orange. The reason for a difference in color is due to visibility against the snow. The hiking signs with white stripes would not be as visible because of the color. The directional signs are slightly different in layout, however, the information remains the same with the name of the trail and the distance of the trail listed similarly to the hiking trail signs. The design choices of the skiing trail signs should be taken into consideration for areas where snow is prevalent on hiking trails for hiking trail wayfinding signage.
Signs posted at a trailhead in the Czech Republic
The Czech Hiking Markers Standard is one of the best hiking trail systems in the world because it can communicate across multiple languages and is easy to implement and maintain. The system could easily be implemented by our National Parks Service with some slight modifications. The system would not be designed to be maintained by one organization, but should be designed so that a multitude of organizations can maintain it without confusion. The biggest concern with the Czech Hiking Markers Standard is it does utilize natural elements, rather, it covers up natural elements bringing manmade components into a natural environment. It does not take into consideration the environment in which it is being used and should be altered in design to accommodate the differing environments. The system also lacks information about trail difficulty. Even though it lists the distance of a trail, it does not provide information about the terrain of a trail. This system is good inspiration that can be used towards a new design for our nation’s parks and certain elements should be considered for a successful wayfinding and trail difficulty system.