Walking or ATV Trail Clearing on Wooded Acreage
You have wooded acres and want a way through them: a walking loop, an ATV trail to the back forty, a lane to a deer stand or a clearing for a food plot.
JMB Builders does walking or ATV trail clearing on wooded acreage and food plot clearing with a skid steer across Minnesota, north metro to St. Cloud. We walk the route with you, cut the brush and small trees, pull stumps and rock in the trail, and grade a firm, drained path. Plots are cleared, root-raked and leveled for your seed. Priced per hour or per project.
- Priced per hour or per project
- Route walked and flagged with you first
- Brush, small trees and stumps out of the trail
- Trail graded to shed water
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A trail is a narrow strip of cleared ground, and it is a different job from clearing a whole lot. The route matters more than the machine. We walk it with you first and flag it: around the big trees you want to keep, along the high ground, and across wet spots at their narrowest point.
Then a skid steer with a brush cutter or grapple cuts the brush and saplings, stumps and rocks in the trail get pulled so an ATV or a mower does not catch them, and the path is graded so water runs off the side instead of down the middle. Low spots get a load of rock or a culvert so the trail is not a mud hole every spring.
Food plots are the same work in a wider shape: brush and small trees off, stumps and roots raked out, and the ground leveled so you can till and seed. Wetland edges and anything near a lake or stream have their own rules, so tell us if the route or plot is close to water.
What you supply
- The rough route or plot location, on an aerial photo or walked with us
- Which trees stay, and whether cut brush is piled, chipped or left to rot
- Property lines marked where the trail runs near them
- Gates, fences and field access for the machine
What JMB supplies
- A walk of the route with you, flagged before any cutting
- Brush and saplings cut with a skid steer brush cutter or grapple
- Stumps and rocks pulled from the trail surface
- Trail graded and crowned or sloped to shed water
- Rock or a culvert at wet crossings where needed
- Brush piled for burning, spread in the woods, or hauled as quoted
- Food plots root-raked and leveled for tilling and seed
How it is priced: per hour
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Trail length and width, or plot size
- Brush density: open woods vs. solid buckthorn or young aspen
- Number and size of stumps and rocks in the route
- Wet spots that need rock or a culvert
- What happens to the brush: piled, spread or hauled
- Distance from the road or yard to the work
Send an aerial screenshot with the route or plot drawn in and a few photos from inside the woods. Short jobs welcome; bigger ones get a per-project price.
How long it takes
A few hundred feet of walking trail: often one day. A long ATV loop or several food plots: several days, depending on how thick the brush is.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Walking trail
A narrow path wide enough to walk and mow, with roots and stumps out of the surface and wet spots firmed up.
ATV or UTV trail
Wider, with a graded surface and turns laid out for the machine. Rock at wet crossings so it does not rut.
Hunting lane to a stand
A quiet lane cleared to a stand or blind, with shooting lanes opened where you mark them.
Food plot
Brush and small trees cleared from an opening, stumps and roots raked out, and the ground leveled for your tiller and seed.
Walking or ATV Trail Clearing on Wooded Acreage: questions, answered
How do you cut a trail through the woods?
We walk and flag the route first, then a skid steer cuts the brush and saplings, stumps and rocks in the path get pulled, and the trail is graded so water runs off the side. Wet spots get rock or a culvert. The big trees you want to keep stay.
Can a skid steer clear a food plot?
Yes. A skid steer with a brush cutter or grapple clears the brush and small trees, and a root rake pulls the stumps and roots so the ground can be tilled. Big trees are cut first and the stumps dug out. The plot is leveled so your tiller and seeder can work it.
How wide should an ATV trail be?
Wide enough for your machine with room on each side so branches do not catch you. A side-by-side needs more room than a four-wheeler. We set the width with you when we flag the route.
What do you do with the brush you cut?
Your choice. It can be piled for burning when conditions and local rules allow, spread back into the woods, or hauled off. Hauling is a line on the quote.
Is trail clearing priced by the hour?
Usually, because nobody knows how thick the brush is until the machine is in it. Short jobs are welcome. For a long trail or several plots we can give a per-project price after walking it.
Can a trail go through wet areas?
Short crossings of wet ground can usually get rock or a culvert. Wetlands, lake shores and streams have state and local rules about what can be cut and filled. Tell us if the route is near water and we check before any work starts.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All excavation pages
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