Funding secured for Haskill Basin
Whitefish Legacy Partners has fully secured all the necessary funding for expanding the Whitefish Trail into Haskill Basin.
The trail will connect Whitefish to Whitefish Mountain Resort with 5.5 miles of new trail, accessed by two new trailheads, as part of the first phase of the Close the Loop project.
“This project took years to orchestrate, and we feel overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support,” Alan Myers-Davis, Director of Development for WLP, said. “It is amazing how quickly everyone came together to raise the final match.”
Funding for the project costs came from $150,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, $90,000 from the Montana Recreation Trails Program, and $11,333 from the Flathead National Forest Resource Advisory Council. A $200,000 match was raised locally through the Haskill Match Community Challenge.
Legacy Partners expects to break ground on the section of trail this spring and complete phase one of the Close the Loop Project this year.
The Lower Haskill Trailhead will be located half a mile up Reservoir Road by the city of Whitefish water treatment facility, and the upper trailhead will be on Big Mountain Road on resort property. The upper trailhead will also have groomed Nordic skiing trails to access existing groomed trails in Haskill Basin.
The project’s budget includes money for long-term operations and maintenance and for a professional survey of the trail corridor. Trail easements from the city, Iron Horse Home Owners Association, Flathead Land Trust, F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co., and Winter Sports Inc., the parent company of Whitefish Mountain Resort, have made the project possible.
There are four phases remaining in WLP’s efforts to close the loop. The nonprofit behind the trail is aiming to complete the entire loop that would create a network of trail through the forestland beside Beaver, Dollar and Woods lakes west of town sweeping north to Swift Creek, then climbing up the lower flanks of Big Mountain into Hellroaring Basin before traversing below Elk Highlands to Haskill Basin and back into town.
An application for a conservation easement for the second phase of the project has been submitted to the state.
The Whitefish Trail already includes 36 miles of trail and 10 trailheads.
A ground-breaking ceremony and celebration for the Haskill Basin section of trail will take place at Bonsai Brewing Project on May 9 from 5-8 p.m. Shuttles to the lower trailhead will leave from Bonsai at 5:15 p.m. and return after the ceremony.
For more information, visit www.whitefishlegacy.org or call 406-862-3880, or email info@whitefishlegacy.org..