A thorough quantification of soil chemical properties is essential for assessing the engineering properties of forest soils for road design, construction, and maintenance. Here, we investigate the applicability of visible-near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy in conjunction with advanced statistical analysis for estimation of soil chemical properties. Sixty forest soil samples were collected and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), CaCO 3 , organic matter (OM), and cation exchange capacity (CEC) with established laboratory methods. The spectral measurements were performed with a Vis-NIR spectrometer within a range of 350-2,500 nm. To estimate abovementioned soil properties from reflectance spectra, advanced statistical techniques including partial least squares regression (PLSR), hybrid partial least squares and artificial neural networks (PLS-DI-ANN) models, hybrid partial least squares and adaptive neural fuzzy inference system (PLS-DI-ANFIS) models, as well as narrow band spectral indices were applied. The obtained results indicate that the PLS-DI-ANFIS models show great potential for the estimation of pH, EC, OM, and CEC from reflectance spectra and their first derivatives, exhibiting higher R 2 values and lower RMSE than the other investigated models. The estimation accuracy for CaCO 3 , however, was low for all applied methods. The results confirm that Vis-NIR spectroscopy may be applied as a rapid and cost-efficient alternative to standard chemical soil analysis techniques, aiding forest road design, construction, and maintenance.