Toward the improvement of trail classification in European Atlantic regions using the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum approach

Recently the demand for recreational trail network has increased rapidly, forming the trail-related recreation as one of the most popular outdoor activities. Trail-related recreation became popular in the region of Algarve due to environmental richness, which is reflected in its great diversity of landscapes. However, unmanaged recreational trails have impacted local natural and cultural heritage. Accordingly, local municipalities have developed various trails, which enable close contact with nature, raise environmental awareness, and protect adjacent environments. More than 80 km of trails were constructed in Algarve, resulting in over 30 trails at different development stages. This paper aims to adapt the Recreational Opportunity Spectrum framework to classify and identify the range of outdoor recreation settings present in landscapes. This paper is informed by the research conducted for the EU funded project "TrailGazersBID". Data were collected across all types of trails based on the field observations and secondary source data. The classification was assessed through the key performance indicators (KPIs) of landscape category and KPIs of physical, social and managerial settings. The majority of the trails are hilly forested and are underdeveloped and highly developed stages. The results provide a panorama of actual trail management, supporting regional planning decision-makers about the recreational input to visual resource management and planning.