The Pico do Marumbi State Park was created in 1990 to protect the Marumbi massif. The first excursion to ascent the Marumbi peak was in 1879 led by Joaquim Olympio de Miranda. Thereafter, the region has been used for climbing practice. This practice affect the trail formation, which pass for many kinds of relieves, soils and vegetation, where the hiking pressure causes different impacts. The Park management plan does not have a specific trail program. The objectives of this study were characterize the main trails and evaluate the factors that provide the erosion to suggest trail management alternatives. The trails conditions were characterized considering soils, vegetation, slope and position on the relief. The use and erosion intensities were determinate. The erosion intensity was correlated with the use intensity, vegetation, soil, slope and position on the relief. It was also evaluated the visitors perception about erosion. The trails pass through a sloped relief with different geologies, soils and vegetation classes. The predominate geological material is the Marumbi granite. The soils were classified as Cambisols, Acrisols, Leptosols, Regosols and Histosols, which are extremely acid, with low fertility rates and high aluminum content, with high amount of clay and coarse sand in the mineral horizons. The area is covered by the Dense Ombrophilous Forest (Rain Forest), subdivided in Submontane Forest, Submontane transition Montane Forest, Montane Forest, small sized Submontane Forest, Upper Montane Forest, small sized Upper Montane Forest and Grassland. The altitude and slope define the soil and the vegetation in accordance with the position on the relief. The trails have different width, depth, hills, steps formation, soils, root and rock exposition according to the use intensity. These consequences were correlated with the characteristics of each location. There are many points with rock exposition. It was verified the security equipments in the places with most difficulty to walk by. The slope, use intensity and parallel direction to the hillside are the factors which increase the erosion intensity. The litter cover, litter thickness and vegetal cover are the factors that decrease the erosion intensity. It is necessary to elaborate the trails management program, including the recovery, maintenance and mitigation of the impacts. All the trails need to be recovered and need constant maintenance. Proposes for this, to build the containment barrier, to change the path trail in the eroded points, to add litter, to interdict the trails in the wet periods, to open the Facãozinho trail after his recuperation and to implant a new trail on a less sloped relief. The Marumbi visitors are predominantly adults, men, with high level of education and beginner climbers. Their trail erosion perception was few evident, independent of the experience in climbing mountain practice. The visitors indicated more difficult to walk by in the most eroded places. The ladder was the security equipmant most indicated. Key-words: Forestry soils
