Many urban and suburban recreation areas suffer from a high visitor density and multiple uses, leading to exceeded social carrying capacities and use displacement. So far, many studies have used images or computer manipulated still images to assess social carrying capacities, while information about the influence of motion on the evaluation of trail scenarios is lacking. Based on static and dynamic presentations of various social trail use conditions, this explorative study compares the intentions of 149 students to displace from a trail. The trail scenarios were described by different levels of user numbers, various shares of user types and various walking and cycling directions. The dynamic element was operated by 3D computer animations. A dichotomous choice survey was used for this comparison for the leisure activities of walking, cycling and jogging. Intentions to displace were similar for both approaches, indicating that static images are a useful tool for assessing social carrying capacities for trail use. Some differences were observed for the magnitude of the influence of the user composition and the direction of movement, particularly for walking activities.