Trail stewards require buy-in to fulfill visions of connectivity for runners, hikers, mountain bikers
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
Big Sky’s mountain bike and multi-use trails are more connected than ever, and trail stewards like the Big Sky Community Organization and Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association are working to connect Big Sky’s once-fragmented trail system, sharing visions of enhanced recreation and transportation alternatives. Partnerships with local landowners and developers, however, are essential in a community where so much land is privately owned.
New trails are opening every year. This spring, Terraflow Trail Systems—which builds most of Big Sky’s multi-use and mountain bike flow trails—completed a three-year project adding a flow trail beside the popular Uplands hiking trail.
Terraflow also recently completed a jump line at the bottom of the current Mountain to Meadow Trail, designed “to give riders an exciting end to their Mountain to Meadow run as well as provide those looking to work on their bike airs easy access to some great jumps right up from the Huff’s Trek Trailhead at the top of Andesite Road,” according to a SWMMBA press release. The jump line required significant help from volunteers, and was cheered immediately by local riders.
Just about every new trail requires buy-in from landowners along the route.
“We appreciate all the opportunities that local landowners and developers give us to enable Big Sky to have the trail network that it does,” said Marco Delguidice, director of parks and trails for BSCO. He noted that virtually every BSCO trail is built in partnership between multiple private entities, with philanthropic support from individuals, community foundations, HOAs and Resort Tax, and other grant funding.
Many recent trails were cut on land owned by Lone Mountain Land Company, the large-scale developer affiliated with Big Sky’s three private mountain clubs and Town Center area. Delguidice said LMLC has been a “great steward” to Big Sky’s public trail network, praising the developer’s investment into projects including Mountain to Meadow, and the Hummocks and Uplands trails near Town Center. LMLC collaborates constantly on new projects with BSCO, SWMMBA and Terraflow.
“That partnership… is amazing,” said Terraflow owner Pete Costain. “And I guess I just feel fortunate that they appreciate our work.”
Costain recalls the “really distinct” vision of his longtime friend Bayard Dominick, director of development for LMLC, who saw how development and trail connectivity could be intertwined roughly a decade ago.
One of the first LMLC-sponsored projects was an immediate hit: in 2015, Mountain to Meadow connected Big Sky Resort’s mountain bike trails to Town Center. LMLC and Big Sky Resort granted the public trail easement and Terraflow got to work.
“[It] just seemed amazing to me that there was one landowner that could just grant that permission,” Costain recalled. Even in 2022 when LMLC’s new development encroached upon the existing Mountain to Meadow, the developer swiftly granted easements to re-route 60% of the popular trail.
Dominick stated in an email to EBS that Mountain to Meadow was the beginning of LMLC’s proud focus on developing trails in Big Sky, an effort that will soon include an “Active Transportation Plan” to elevate bike and pedestrian connectivity.
“It has been incredible to see how quickly [Mountain to Meadow] has become a mainstay for locals and visitors,” Dominick stated. “The number of people using the Skyline free shuttle with bike trailers has been awesome to see.”
In addition to trails built for recreation, Dominick said non-vehicle connectivity between neighborhoods, activity centers and public transportation is another critical aspect of their work. “The future of expanded trails and sidewalks is bright and we are proud to be a part of it.”
Addressing property owner concerns
When the land isn’t all owned by one trail-hungry developer, the process may be more complicated.
One example is the Ralph’s Pass Trail, completed in 2017 after three years of significant coordination between BSCO and nearly a dozen landowners to reach easement agreements. The 2.7-mile multi-use trail connects Ousel Falls to the Uplands Trail.
“That trail is definitely a poster child for community cooperation,” Costain said.
Another example is Huff’s Trek, a 3.3-mile multi-use trail climbing from near Town Center to Big Sky Resort. Huff’s Trek was enabled by one major donation and successful easement agreements between the Aspen Groves and Antler Ridge subdivisions.
Furthermore, Delguidice explained that many local trails were never protected by easements or stewarded by an entity such as BSCO. Some trails emerged by way of informal handshake agreements, others were created organically by foot traffic, but many are now being challenged by landowners or HOAs.
“Subsequently, we are trying to re-establish some of these trails into official easements and that way we can better maintain them and have them become official,” Delguidice said.
Easement propositions often face pushback from property owners and HOAs, including fears of legal liability. Costain said it’s a misconception, as most states—including Montana—have laws that waive legal liability for public recreation on private land accessed via trail easement.
“If the activity is free to the public… there simply is no precedent to be sued,” Costain said.
Another hangup is the notion that public use will compromise privacy and dent property values—Delguidice emphasizes that trail access creates the opposite effect.
Communities become attractive as they gain “epic trail hub” status, Costain explained, and real estate values follow. “It has 100% been proven… The closer to trails you are, similar to ski-in, ski-out—ride-in, ride-out, it really has the same effect.”
Costain added that Terraflow prioritizes efficiency when crossing a property or subdivision, plotting trails through the least useful or otherwise developable land.
“We appreciate all the opportunities that local landowners and developers give us to enable Big Sky to have the trail network that it does.”
Marco Delguidice, BSCO director of parks and trails
While developer and landowner buy-in is typically the biggest obstacle, Costain said he’s seen “amazing” cooperation during his 10 years of trail work in Big Sky.
More work lies ahead.
Leaders seek buy-in for two new trails
Pending collaboration with property owners and HOAs to secure trail easements, two new trails could create leaps for Big Sky’s connectivity.
In a project Delguidice says could be “a huge asset” to improve connectivity, a new connector trail would link the Hummocks Trail near Town Center to the Mud Creek Trail in the Gallatin Canyon, connecting via the Coldsmoke Trail—partially built in 2023 as dead-end above the Quarry subdivision, awaiting its connection.
“The plan is to connect the canyon to the meadow via trails—single-track trails that aren’t paved, so that people can hike and bike down to the canyon, and essentially now, get all the way up to the resort without getting on pavement,” Delguidice said.
Costain said the trail would be a crucial step toward Big Sky’s connectivity goals.
“There is an incredible amount of pending excitement around trails, and ongoing negotiations,” Costain said.
He added that developers representing the Quarry and Gallatin Foothills developments in the canyon have been “huge proponents… incredibly generous and supportive of trails” as BSCO works to expand its trails to the canyon. For a connector trail between Big Sky’s meadow and canyon areas to be possible, however, properties in between will need to get on board.
Another project, much further along, aims to add a family-friendly detour for Mountain to Meadow, a blue-rated trail which became slightly more intimidating with its 2023 re-route.
The Big Sky chapter of SWMMBA—known informally as the “Trail Dogs”—is raising money for a 3.5-mile, green-rated Mountain to Meadow option.
The project is estimated to cost $212,000, and since February SWMMBA has secured contributions including $37,500 from both LMLC and the Spanish Peaks Community Foundation, $15,000 from the Moonlight Community Foundation, and roughly $4,500 from the Give Big fundraiser event. The project also received a $25,000 grant from the Big Sky Resort Area District on June 12.
Costain explained that the primary goal is to allow families and less skilled mountain bikers to take advantage of the Big Sky bike shuttle system and have an enjoyable experience riding from Big Sky Resort to Town Center without fear of exposure or advanced riders crowding them off the trail.
The new section will be wider, averaging six feet wide, with “minimal” switchback corners and exposure, creating a “true beginner flow trail,” according to the project website.
BSCO is working to secure an easement as the proposed trail would cross private land held by LMLC, Big Sky Resort and Middle Fork Partners—the developer of the proposed Flatiron subdivision. If successful, Costain believes the trail could be built by the end of August.
When Costain began building trails in Big Sky 10 years ago, he said there was a large gap between proponents’ visions and overall community buy-in. Now, he’s impressed to see more organized planning and thoughtful collaboration with developers to improve recreation and transportation, making it more appealing for property owners to give the green light.
