BIGFORK — Just to the northeast of Bigfork, on Swan Hill, lies an undeveloped tract of land.
Thanks to a conservation easement in place, this land is being converted into a trail system, open to the public and protected from future development.
“It’s 236 acres of wooded open space just outside of town,” said Flathead Land Trust Executive Director Paul Travis.
Development of a new 4.5 mile trail system is in progress called Harrell Forest Community Trails off Bigfork Stage Road.
“Families out hiking looking for a short stroll, trail runners, I think this will be great for those folks, mountain bikers, yeah it’s really open to all those types of users,” added Travis.
Travis said trails are being carved out by mini excavators, creating perfect single tract natural surface paths.
“You know we wanted to create a trail system that would appeal to just about anyone, so the grades are pretty mellow, nothing more than 8% grade.”
The creation of the trail system is made possible due to a land donation from Alan and Cindy Harrell-Horn.
This in turn led to a conservation easement to permanently protect the land thanks to a partnership between the Flathead Land Trust, the Trust for Public Land and the Montana Land Reliance.
“With that donation, the idea and the seed was planted that there needed to be some kind of community benefit from that donation, so the idea of a community trail system was generated from that, it seemed to be the best fit for this, being that it’s so close to Bigfork,” said Travis.
In the early 2000’s the land was almost turned into a 17-unit subdivision.
Travis said the conservation easement in place protects the natural ecosystem for generations to come.
“This piece of land will not see any residential development in perpetuity, it’s going to be available as open space for the public to enjoy and this trail system is a big part of that.”
Travis is asking the public to stay off the trails as design work continues throughout the summer.
He expects the trails to be ready for use come early September.
“We’ve obviously broken ground and are getting closer and closer each day to having this ready for the public to enjoy, so it’s really exciting to see it at this point.”
