about
Borrowing the name from a colloquial term for the fastest land mammal in North America, Speedgoat Trail Co is a full service trail company specializing in natural and improved surface trails. Although we are not claiming to be the fastest trail company, we certainly aren’t the slowest. Utilizing a ‘work smarter and harder’ approach, we are able to complete projects faster and more efficiently resulting in the best possible product at a lower cost. Many years of professional trail building experience and an architectural design education uniquely positions Speedgoat Trail Co to easily tackle all aspects of trail projects for any type of client. Whether it is trail layout and design, trail construction, existing trail maintenance, or trail building education for your staff or volunteers, Speedgoat Trail Co is here to help your trail be the best trail.
Evan Ely
Like many people, Evan grew up building bike jumps and trails in the local woods behind his home. While his friends wanted to make bigger and bigger jumps, he realized that the jumps were only as good as the trail between them and found himself spending more time correcting drainage and adding flow than learning sick tricks. Although he did not realize it, this was his first insight into the trail building world.
After graduating from college with an architectural design degree, he moved west to the Rocky Mountains and started attending volunteer trail days, learning the in’s and out’s of trail construction and maintenance. He quickly found himself inquiring about the more specialized aspects of trail building and helping with the hard, challenging rock projects in the front range of Colorado. In 2019 an opportunity presented itself to become a full time professional trail builder, Evan jumped at the chance and hasn’t looked back.
As a professional trail builder, Evan has worked in over a half dozen states for a variety of clients, from the USFS and BLM to nonprofit trail organizations and land trusts to private landowners. Projects have ranged from handbuilt new trail on the Colorado Trail at 12,000 ft above sea level, down to designing conceptual, bike-optimized flow trail in the East Bay of California. As Machine Operator, Project Manager, and Senior Trail Designer, Evan has worn many hats over the years for different companies, learning a great deal from every project along the way.
At some point, every bird must leave the nest and that brings us to now. Evan is the owner, operator, instructor, and driving force behind Speedgoat Trail Co, bringing years of real world knowledge and experience that can only be learned from physical time in the mountains, forests, and prairies. This experience paired with a formal design education enables Evan and Speedgoat Trail Co to handle every step of the trail process from idea to implementation.