Public bike trails are increasingly being vandalized with hidden obstacles and written threats, escalating tensions over shared outdoor spaces. Now, riders are spreading awareness to warn other bikers — and assert their right to ride on public land.
In a Reddit post, a biker shared a news story by the Spokesman-Review detailing how disgruntled parkgoers in Washington state have vandalized bike trails with grease, hidden obstacles, and threatening signs.
One of the scrawled threats read, "I have endless time to mess with this loop…obstacles, caltrops, hidden spikes. Hell, I may pour concrete. This run will never, ever be reliably safe."
In response to the article, the biker wrote that they have had a similar experience on their local bike trails in New York, showing the hostility toward bikers isn't isolated to one park.
"In Westchester, we have some vigilantes placing branches on the bottoms of rollers and drops on sanctioned MTB trails," the biker wrote. "Placing boobytraps on trails is a violent crime and cannot be tolerated."
This animosity toward bikers doesn't just put riders at risk — it fuels unnecessary conflict over who gets to enjoy shared outdoor spaces. And when public land becomes a battleground, the environment suffers.
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Environmental awareness begins with basic respect for nature and shared access to natural spaces. Time spent outdoors — whether biking, hiking, or simply exploring — should strengthen people's connection to the natural world and encourage stewardship. But when trails are sabotaged, they become places of fear and hostility rather than recreation and connection.
These so-called "vigilantes" aren't protecting nature by discouraging bikers. Instead, they are undermining the vital human-nature connection that inspires people to care for the environment. True environmental protection hinges on coexistence and a collective commitment to keeping public lands safe, accessible, and protected for everyone.
One Washington-based commenter who came across the Reddit PSA said local riders were considering installing trail cameras to identify whoever is responsible for the threatening signs highlighted in the Spokesman-Review article.
"Fingers crossed," they wrote of the effort.
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