I usually do this, too. Earlier this year, I found out that a side trail had been closed, and the main trail re-routed, because a section of the forest was being logged. (This is in Ohio, and the forest is managed as a pulpwood-producing forest, so it's not like they were destroying old-growth woods.) I've also, in the past, learned that streams I intended to rely on were dry, or that other local conditions were changed since my last visit.

It's a good idea.