No doubt about the existence of hiking trails

Based on public debates about the status of hiking trails, the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS) wishes to emphasize that they have existed in nature for well over a century before the adoption of the Hiking Trails Act in 2007. The history of their marking dates back to the 19th century, and the first marked trail in the Julian Alps was arranged in 1879 from Bohinj over Komarča to Triglav, while systematic marking of hiking trails began in 1893 with the establishment of the Slovenian Alpine Association, the predecessor of the PZS. Therefore, the alpine association and alpine societies, as custodians of hiking trails, continue to maintain and care for them, which represents one of the fundamental activities of the alpine organization, and in the future we hope for more appropriate legal solutions in the field, especially those that will be feasible by all stakeholders involved in implementing the legislation.



The debates stem from the fact that the competent ministry has not yet established a register of hiking trails. The main problem lies in the provisions of the Rules on the Method of Spatial Display of Hiking Trail Routes and the Regulation on the Content of the Register of Hiking Trails and the Method of Its Establishment and Maintenance, which stipulate that geodetic plans must be prepared for all trails. According to some estimates, this would mean a cost of several million euros and several years of work for the current extent of hiking trails, which is why the PZS has been advocating for a more rational regulation and simplification of the provisions for years.



In Slovenia, there is a marked network of 1974 hiking trails with a total length of 10,004 kilometers. The Alpine Association has established a spatial display of hiking trails based on data and cooperation with alpine societies, which is published at http://www.planinske-poti.si/. To make it available today in its current form and scope required ten years of volunteer work. The display of hiking trails is publicly available on the web and shown on maps and in guidebooks, which is the alpine organization's contribution to safer visits to the mountainous world.



Hiking trails are defined in Article 2 of the Hiking Trails Act, which defines them as a narrow strip of land, usually in hilly, mountainous, and alpine terrain, intended for walking, running, or climbing, which can be an existing footpath along a public transport surface, a field path, or a suitable forest road, or it can also be an independent trail, usually no more than one meter wide, reinforced with natural material only in necessary cases. Article 6 of the law further stipulates that hiking trails are marked with Knafelc markings, which is also the main distinguishing and recognizable feature of hiking trails in nature.



The conclusion that existing hiking trails are not legal is unfounded. The purpose of adopting the Hiking Trails Act was, among other things, to regulate and unify the state of hiking trails in nature, which have existed in the area of Slovenia for more than a century. Therefore, the provisions of the law cannot be interpreted in such a way that until the establishment of the spatial display by the ministry, which is one of the phases of regulating hiking trails, no hiking trail exists. The law has summarized the current state in nature and nowhere stipulates that in the event of untimely establishment of the register, the trails cease to exist.



We emphasize that the provision still applies that cycling is not permitted on hiking trails, except where they run along field paths or forest roads. Arrangements for dual-use trails, i.e., for walking and cycling, are also permitted. The Alpine Association of Slovenia has adopted criteria from the perspective of safety and nature protection on which trails such a regime can be introduced. For two trails, we have already carried out the internal procedure for arranging dual-use trails at the suggestion of the custodian, but we have been waiting for more than a year for formal confirmation from the ministry responsible for sports.



According to data from a study on the sports-recreational activity of Slovenes, conducted at the Faculty of Sport in 2008, 15 percent, or about 300,000 Slovenes, engage in hiking and mountaineering, and Slovenian mountains are visited annually by more than 1.4 million visitors. Hiking trails are used by everyone – not only hikers, but also locals living along them, excursionists, tourists, and other visitors to the Slovenian mountainous, hilly, and undulating world, which they connect and make attractive precisely through exemplary maintained and marked hiking trails.



"In the Alpine Association of Slovenia, we are deeply disappointed by the doubts of some individuals and media about the existence of hiking trails, which hikers have been maintaining for more than a hundred years with an abundance of volunteer work and a large share of covering costs from our own funds. Hiking trails are a fact, recognizable and visible practically throughout Slovenia. Shortly after the adoption of the Hiking Trails Act and sub-legal acts, we in the alpine organization began to draw the attention of the competent state authorities to some legal solutions that are not feasible in practice. Since we have this year completed ten years of volunteer work on the spatial display of hiking trails and arranged a cadastre with data on custodians of hiking trails, we hope that in cooperation with the competent state authorities we will resolve the remaining open issues related to this law in the shortest possible time. Finally, let me clearly state that cycling on hiking trails is still limited to roads and to two hiking trails that we have arranged and marked for dual use; on all other hiking trails that run along paths, cycling is prohibited. Any different interpretation also means taking responsibility for possible accidents and damage to hiking trails, as such trails are not adapted for cyclists," emphasizes Bojan Rotovnik, President of the Alpine Association of Slovenia.