Survey work for A Trail Runs Through It is underway near Skyles Lake section of the trail, with GPS alignment further refining the entire trail. It's a first and important step towards a trail system that will cover over 30 miles of beautiful terrain that surrounds Whitefish.

If you're not familiar with the name A Trail Runs Through It, this section is also known as the rural version of Fish Trails—the bike and pedestrian path through local state trust lands. An ad hoc group made a rough conceptual sketch of where the trail system will be constructed. Because the conceptual sketch represented a rough estimation of actual and possible trails, the survey and GPS work is the preliminary step in making this dream a reality.

This section of trail near Skyles Lake and Lion Mountain was identified as high on the priority list because of its proximity to Whitefish. This first phase will over four miles long and will accommodate hiking and biking only (other trail sections are slated to include equestrienne access.)

Parking areas have been plotted and specific trail sections are being flagged. However no permanent moves will be made until a courtesy public information session is held this fall.

"We want the public aware and involved in this information session. We want to get this public process right," landscape architect Jena Tonti explained, noting that Bruce Boody Architects, Inc., (one of the agencies charged with creating and constructing the trails) will gather public comments during the session. The City of Whitefish and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation will also be involved in the process.

Last year, the State Land Board approved the city of Whitefish as the managing entity of the trail system. Once the Goguen land exchange is completed—the exchange is scheduled for completion sometime this fall—it's full speed ahead on construction of the trail.

Funding for the trails is contingent on the land exchange, so no construction will occur until the land exchange is complete.

The total project will involve multiple phases, but this first phase will be an exciting beginning to a wonderful Whitefish amenity.

The latest addition to Whitefish's biking amenities proves that sometimes all little dedication, dirt and desire goes a long way. Thanks to that trio—Whitefish welcomes the dirt jump bike park to Armory Park.

The park boasts all levels of jumps, including a 25-foot high running ramp and spiral pathway.

"It's a great learning place. There's something for little kids, big kids and adults," explained Pete Costain, a local biker who ushered this project through from beginning to end.

Costain joined ranks with other bikers—Jake Christiansen and Yvonne May—to get the project going. With a little help from the Flathead Fat Tires Cycling Team, they approached the city of Whitefish with the idea two years ago.

"What took us two years to get the project done was basically the paperwork," Flathead Fat Tires president Tyler Tourville joked, "Cyclists doing paperwork."

The paperwork came in the form of Flathead Fat Tires officially receiving their non-profit status, which was essential to city of Whitefish buy-in. Once that was filed, the money, dirt and landscaping came easy.

"The rest of it took a week-and-a-half," noted Tourville,.

It just so happened that Christiansen and May own a local landscaping business, so once the 850 cubic yards of dirt was secured—in the form of donations from local truckers and developers—it was off to the races for the dirt jumps.

The fact that dirt was fairly malleable added to the city's acceptance of the idea.

"We basically told the city that it's all dirt. If they didn't like (the park) in the end, they could just flatten it out," Tourville explained.

But the city liked what they saw, and after a few dust abating sprinklers (which also added to usability and sustainability) the project became a park.

Costain emphasized the park's ability to introduce people to free riding—a relatively new style of mountain bike riding that is gaining popularity at mountain resorts around the world.

According to Costain, free riding is an intermediate/advanced form of riding that is more downhill oriented than classic single track and features relatively ‘mellow' air.

The park is also just plain fun, noted Costain, who goes there with his seven and nine-year-old boys.

After Fish Trails construction was delayed this summer due to exorbitant bids, city staff will rebid construction this fall. And there's a silver lining to this thundercloud—the pause has given council and staff a chance to consider creative options that may drive costs down even further.

Construction on four sections of trail was delayed by the high bids: the two-mile stretch along Wisconsin Avenue, the Rocksund to Monegan section, Edgewood Drive to Texas Avenue and Second Street to Armory Road.

Bids shocked Montana Department of Transportation officials and did not sit well with council, who rejected the bids this past May.

So this fall, request for bids will go out to a broader range of contractors, including out of area contractors. The hope is that out of state competition put downward pressure on Flathead' prices.

Staff has also reviewed costs and may relax requirements in order to further reduce costs—particularly in the area of retaining rock walls, which can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to construction. The hope is that minor changes in requirements will free up contractor logistics and drive down costs. City council will approve any changes in construction requirements.

"We are confident that we will see better bids and that this will be a better process," Public Works director John Wilson explained to the Bike/Ped Committee this past June, "We all want to see this happen."

Creative solutions to the problem are being pursued—including creating an in-house Fish Trails construction team. These ideas are still under consideration (in case bids come in high again) although city staff was pessimistic as to whether federal funds could be applied towards creation of the in-house crews.

Fans of Fish Trails have observed that the recent slowdown in the housing market may help prices even further. With a wealth of construction work available when the bids went out last year, contractors could charge Gucci prices knowing they could afford to turn work away. Housing market woes may mean bike path construction is now more desirable work.

The good news is that grant funds secured for this project will not expire due to this delay. With that piece in place, council's willingness to wait may mean that the process will create better prices from here on out. And that may mean each dollar goes farther when it comes to Fish Trails construction.

The City of Whitefish will begin collecting statements of qualification for designers on Thursday, August 2nd, marking the day that design work officially begins for A Trail Runs Through It.

Interviews for potential candidates will occur the first weeks of September, and final prospects will be brought to city council for final approval on Sept. 17. The hope is that survey work can begin this fall, which will maximize chances that construction will take place as soon as possible, and perhaps as soon as the summer of 2008.

Trail Runs Through It is a bike/pedestrian path that runs through surrounding state trust lands. Plans for the trail began two years ago, and recently culminated with an official agreement with the state and the City of Whitefish over easement ownership. The City will manage and construct the trails.

Currently, the Bike and Pedestrian Committee is working towards providing full oversight for both Fish Trails and A Trail Runs Through It. Long-term plans will be to provide links between the two trails, which are quickly becoming known as the Whitefish urban trail (Fish Trails) and the Whitefish rural trail (A Trail Runs Through It.)

The city will use Michael Goguen's donation of $100,000 to pay for the planning and design. Remaining funds will go towards construction. $3 million in funding is still pending, awaiting the official land exchange between the DNRC and Mr. Goguen.

The design will be based off of the A Trail Runs Through It's master plan, which is a conceptual design. Over the next few months, the chosen design team will work through the nitty-gritty planning details, including drainage, slopes and other important aspects of actual trail construction.

Fish Trails and A Trail Runs Through It will officially merge under one trail system.

With so much construction, proposed construction and trails in the works, it can be hard to determine what trails are rideable and what trails are figments of the future. With that in mind, the Fish Trails and Bike/Pedestrian Committee are pursuing the creation of a Whitefish map of trails.

The project would hire a cartographer to create an accurate map of Whitefish streets and surrounding area. Maps of trails, major landmarks, park areas, river access and specific recreation information would be included on the 24 x 36 map.

With an eye on accuracy, the map would be the first of its kind to capture the bike path options in and around Whitefish. All of the A Trail Runs Through It rural section would also be included, since the city has been officially approved as the managing entity of both trails.

Once the original map is created, updated editions could easily be created.

The goal of the project is to increase bike and pedestrian path usage and awareness, and down the line the hope is that the maps may generate funds for trail creation.

Currently, potential grant funding for the project is being pursued. Once that is secured, partners for the project will be recruited. The Whitefish Convention & Visitor Bureau has already agreed to partner on the project and has committed $1,000 toward that end. The Department of Natural Resources and Whitefish Chamber have also expressed interest.

Both committees want the project completed as soon as possible, and although the exact timeline will depend on grant award schedules, the map may go into production as early as next fall—just in time to capture next summer's big construction push.

In the meantime, map aficionados can download smaller versions of the big map by visiting www.fishtrails.info and clicking on the Fish Trails map section.