We look forward to touring the trail and showing them one of our communities’ recreational assets. What an amazing gem it has become! Visit the Western Governors’ Association for more information and agenda details.

When: National Trails Day – Saturday, June 5th

Also . . .
Wednesday, June 9th
Friday, June 11th

Time: 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (or whenever you need to leave)

Where: We will meet at the Lion Mountain trailhead. Follow 93W 1.2 miles out of town. Turn right onto Lion Mountain Loop Road and follow it to the trailhead 1.2 miles up the road on your right. Please drive courteously through the neighborhoods.

What do you need: Please wear sturdy shoes or boots and bring eye protection, work gloves, a sack lunch, and water. Extra rakes would also be helpful.

To volunteer email us on-line or pick up an application at the Whitefish Parks and Rec office.

Please contact David Noftsinger at 406-314-0160 if you have questions.

More volunteer days will be announced throughout June and July!

The meetings will be led by Marty Zeller of Conservation Partners, Inc. and are sponsored by Flathead Gateway Partners, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Flathead County and the City of Whitefish.

This meeting process is designed to harness the creative energy of community and local representatives to help shape implementation strategies initiated in Whitefish Neighborhood Plan adopted in 2004, impacting the 13,000 acres of School Trust Lands surrounding the the Whitefish Community. The Plan seeks to conserve trust lands that provide clean water, recreational opportunities and viewsheds, while generating fair and predictable revenue for the trust beneficiaries–Montana’s schools and colleges. Please see the event notice for detailed information regarding the Whitefish Neighborhood Plan “Next Steps” Meetings.

Meetings were held during the week of May 10 -14, 2010. Additional follow up meetings will take place in the late summer. If you cannot attend your neighborhood meeting, please share your thoughts by taking our online survey which will be posted on the Trail Runs Through It website after May 28, 2010.

Thank you for your attention, interest, and response.

Over the past several weeks, a Trail Runs Through It has hosted an open bid process for trail contractors interested in clearing the corridor and building the new segments of trail from the Lion Mountain trailhead to the overlook. We received great bids and proposals from four very experienced contractors .

We are excited to announce that Pete Costain of Dirty Pete, Inc. has earned the opportunity. If you have hiked on the trail to the cliff band, you have already walked Pete’s skilled work. He and his crew will be clearing the trail corridor and building approximately two miles of new trail this season. This section of trail has been designed as a stacked loop system offering trail users several loop options from the Lion Mountain trailhead.

The long awaited “Skyles Connector” trail will also be built this spring. This trail will connect the 6-vehicle parking area on Skyles Lake Lane ascending up the draw and tying into the main spine of the trail. Once on the main spine, trail users have the opportunity to head north-west to the Beaver Lakes area or east to the cliff band and on to the Lion Mountain trailhead. Check out the maps posted on this website.

May Lawn and Home Care Inc. will build the Skyles Connector. Jake Christiansen, owner, was awarded the contract last fall, but construction was put on hold as all administration was finalized. We are hoping to get started on both the Skyles Connector and the new trail segments on Lion Mountain in the upcoming weeks.

Scott Elden of Elden Creative and the TRTI Design Review Team have been working hard on logos, trailheads, and signage. We are very excited with the designs and hope to provide great trail amenities for our opening. Don’t miss the Grand Opening and Community Celebration planned for July 17th on the trail all day and in Depot Park from 4 -7pm.

As you can see, there are a lot moving parts to this project! We are asking for your help in setting more people in motion. Our first volunteer project of the season is to help open a closed section of trail. Last winter, the section of trail connecting to the cliff band from Skyles Lake Lane was closed due to a logging operation.

A note about the logging….Much of a Trail Runs Through It crosses School Trust Lands. These lands were granted by the U.S. Congress to the State of Montana in 1889 carrying a mandate to generate revenue for our public schools. The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation manages these School Trust Lands as working forests to the benefit of our public schools; these lands also provide wildlife habitat, open space, and recreation opportunities, such as the trail . . .

The operation has finished for the season. The trail is in pretty good shape as the logger was aware of the TRTI trail project and the ground was frozen; however, there is still logging slash – the boughs and branches of trees – covering large sections of the trail.

If we can remove the slash and complete any necessary maintenance, we can open the trail. We are looking for volunteers on Thursday April 29th and Saturday, May 1st. We will be meeting at the Grouse Mountain tennis courts at 9:30am on both days. The plan will be to remove the slash from the trail so we can open this section of trail for everyone’s enjoyment. Sign up on our website to volunteer. Please bring work gloves, eye protection, water, and a lunch.

We are also really looking forward to the Montana Wilderness Association joining us on the trail on Saturday, May 1st for a morning of volunteer work during their annual convention being held in Whitefish (http://www.wildmontana.org/events/convention.php). It will be great to be out there working together.

There is much to be done and many trail conversations to be had. We look forward to seeing you in the forest. Get excited. Get involved . . . this should be lots of fun! Happy Trails!

Other TRTI trail news….You may have noticed our Request for Proposals out last month and we are pleased to announce that we have hired Scott Elden with Elden Creative to help us design our logo and trailheads. This undertaking is a huge endeavor and we are truly excited to be working with a professional like Scott and his team. We hope to create a unique personality fitting for the trail and we look forward to sharing with you what we create.

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers….We need you and are feeling like it’s time to get out on the trail and put you to work. If you are not yet on our mailing list or are interested in working on the trail, send us an email and let us know if you can help out during the week, or on weekends. It’s a great way to get involved in the project and there’s a huge variety of heavy and light work to be done. Your volunteer support is such a huge part of this project.

We hope you are enjoying paging through our updated web page. We are making an effort to share our story in hopes of involving more and more of you and to keep you up-to-date with our progress. The Trail Runs Through It project is the cornerstone of a conservation and recreation plan for 13,000 acres of state school trust lands in the northern Flathead and it is an incredible undertaking and amazing opportunity for us all. These lands, located only minutes from Whitefish, offer vast opportunities for dispersed recreation including hiking, biking, running, horseback riding, hunting and fishing, and are an important contributor to the local economy providing job opportunities in resource management. If you’ve been out on trail in the last 6 months, you will likely notice the logging operations that have been underway. The risk of fire danger is being lessened, the health of the forest is being rejuvenated, the local economy is gaining a boost, and the views are incredible!

As we wind down the winter and bring our planning period to a close, our missions and goals for the trail feel so rewarding. We believe setting a goal of building over 40 miles of trails, developing 6 trailheads, and maintaining these lands in perpetuity for public access and wildlife habitat will be our key to generating enthusiasm and support for long-term conservation of these school trust lands. Thank you for your support and continued interest in the Trail Runs Through It.

( click image to enlarge or download PDF)

Last year over four miles of trail were constructed through a combination of state, federal, and private lands.  Although the trail was available for public use, it was difficult to find because it did not connect to any trailheads!  This is because the Land Use Licenses allowing the trail on state lands had not been finalized.  Until the Licenses were finalized, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), who manages state lands, did not let us develop any trailheads, connect the trail to the trailheads, or publicize the trail for general usage.  However, the DNRC did allow us to initiate trail construction, so last July 1 we broke ground on state lands.  We had a very productive construction season that engaged many local contractors, the Montana Conservation Corps, and dozens of enthusiastic local volunteers.  Despite the difficulty in finding the trail, word of mouth slowly spread, and by fall many locals were enjoying the trail on a weekly basis.

This year will be a breakthrough year for TRTI.  As soon as the snow is melted we will start moving dirt, and we have ambitious goals for both trail construction and trailhead amenities.  We plan on building another four miles of trail, and perhaps more importantly, we will develop two trailheads as official parking areas for trail users.  The “main” trailhead will be located off of Lion Mountain Loop Road, just 1.0 mile west of Whitefish. This trailhead will have a vault toilet, a trailhead kiosk with signage and information, and a large parking area.  The second “minor” trailhead will be located off of Skyles Lake Lane, 3.5 miles west of town.  This trailhead will have a trailhead kiosk and parking for six vehicles.  The trail can also be accessed from the north end, off of Beaver Lake Road.  Although there is limited signage and extremely limited parking, the trail currently connects to Beaver Lake Road, approximately .75 miles before the public fishing access at Beaver Lake.

*NOTE*  There is a stand-alone trail network that is also part of TRTI that is open for trail users! This trail system is located off of Lupfer Road, 11.5 miles north on HWY 93 from Whitefish. Although this trail system has had very little publicity, it was completed in late Fall 2009 and has several miles of trails open for hikers, bikers, and equestrians. The Lupfer Trailhead has a gravel parking lot, and will have a kiosk and trail signage installed this spring/summer. The Lupfer trails are also on state lands managed by the DNRC, but exist on an isolated parcel and so do not connect to other portions of the TRTI trail network. Please check out the directions and maps listed on this website to get to these trails!

 As many people who have worked on the TRTI project are aware, more seems to happen in meeting rooms than happens on the ground.  Because so many agencies are involved, the bureaucracy of the project has at times been overwhelming.  Nonetheless, incredible headway and positive relationships have been forged.  This winter, we have worked tirelessly to complete the Land Use Licenses with the DNRC and finalize a TRTI Management/Operations Plan that will guide daily operations of the trail system.  In addition, we are currently engaged in a “branding and design” process that will create a logo and a “look and feel” for the TRTI trail system.  Creating a positive logo and attractive design for trailheads and trail maps will help us market the trail to the local community and beyond.  Although the TRTI project was kick-started by a generous donation, we will need to engage in robust fundraising efforts to implement the vision as it was laid out in the Master Plan.  Having cohesive branding and marketing materials will help us convey our vision as we approach donors to support our cause.  It’s an exciting time for the Trail Runs Through It.

Thank you so much to all of our supporters who have tirelessly advocated for this project.  Although the trail has had many twists and turns, the destination is in sight! To celebrate the official opening of the first phase of the project, we are planning a Grand Opening celebration in early July.  To meet this goal we will need significant support from all our volunteers to help us complete trail construction on time.  As spring draws nearer we will begin to plan dates for trail work parties.  Please stay in touch and tell your friends about this project!