Forest Service Road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Forest Service Road is a type of rudimentary access road, built by the Forest Service, leading into a remote undeveloped area. These roads are built for the purposes of the logging industry and forest management workers, although in some cases they are also used for backcountry recreation access.
Networks of tributary roads branch off from a trunk FSR in all directions. Trunk roads are often wide and well-maintained while most branch roads are rough, narrow, muddy, and winding. Roads are usually named after a regional district, with individual branches being given an alphanumeric designation.
Typically, a large high-clearance four wheel drive vehicle is required to travel effectively on a road, especially where large potholes and/or waterbars are present. Switchbacks are employed as a means of making the road passable through extremely steep or mountainous terrain.
Roads rapidly fall into disrepair and become impassable when they are no longer needed. However, remnants of old roads can exist for decades. They are eventually erased through the processes of washout, erosion, and ecological succession.
