ROCKS board member Alan Davis walking down the newly build Hill 16 Lakeview Trail. This section of the trail was built with a mini excavator through collaboration with Mountain Bike Missoula.
Volunteers pose Aug. 12 at the start of the Hill 16 Lakeview Trail. Pictured (L-R): Carol Fulton ROCKS, Alan Davis ROCKS, Chase Krywaruchka, Phat Trak, Jim Fulton ROCKS, Brian Williams MTB Missoula, Steve Kloetzel TNC Western Land Steward and Kira.
High schoolers with Missoula Youth in Restoration, an eight-week program through the Missoula County Weeds District helped build trail Aug. 16.
ROCKS Board Members Alan Davis, Carol Fulton and Jim Fulton build trail Aug. 16.
On Tuesday, Aug. 12, Seeley Lake Regional Outdoor Center for Kinetic Sports (ROCKS) kicked off construction of the Hill 16 Lakeview Trail above the north shore of Placid Lake. The Hill 16 Community Trail System was deemed a priority project in the 2018 Seeley Lake Trails Plan – the result of three years of public input and facilitated discussion.
"This is a big day and a major undertaking for ROCKS", said Carol Fulton, ROCKS Board member. "It is the culmination of countless hours of work on the part of ROCKS and its partners."
Mountain Bike Missoula (MTB) won the competitive bid and contract to build the project and is utilizing Phat Trak Trail Company to do the actual trail construction. MTB estimates it should take about a month to complete the work on the project. Until construction is complete, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has closed the trail area to users, with the exception of volunteers working on the project in conjunction with MTB.
The trail will begin adjacent to the "Y" near the Placid Lake State Park and will end above the State Day Use area on the north shore of Placid Lake.
• The Lakeview Trail is part of an integrated trail system that ROCKS has been developing in conjunction with TNC that will ultimately allow non-motorized users to go from Highway 83 to Tupper's Lake (11.2 miles).
• The project will utilize former logging roads thereby significantly lowering trail building costs and impacts from new trail construction. Sections of new trail will link these existing former roads creating loops and a longer trail.
• In consultation with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and TNC, trails have been designed to largely avoid deer and elk range. The Lakeview Trail will be closed in the winter as it crosses critical elk winter range. Trail use guidelines will require dogs be leashed and/or under voice command.
Securing funding for the Lakeview Trail Project has been the culmination of over a year's worth of volunteer work by members of the ROCKS Board and its project partners. The project came to fruition through a unique set of partnerships and volunteer and financial contributions that ROCKS would like to acknowledge: TNC, upon whose land the trail is being constructed and has fully supported the project from the beginning; The Western Conservation Project provided countless hours of staff time as well as a financial commitment to the project; Montana FWP provided funding for the project through its Recreational Trails Program; Placid Lake Cabin Owners' Association provided countless volunteer hours to the project plus a financial contribution; ROCKS Board members and other local volunteers who contributed both time and money to the project
ROCKS has made both a substantial financial commitment and a commitment of volunteer hours to construct and maintain the Hill 16 project. Should you be interested in supporting the project, please make your contributions to Seeley Lake ROCKS, PO Box 53, Seeley Lake, MT 59868.
For more information or to volunteer on the project, please contact: Alan Davis, 406-439-2754, balan.davis@outlook.com or Jim McClean, 406-544-1350, jimmclean1207@icloud.com.
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