Mountain Trails

Mountain Trails Foundation

We build, maintain and protect Park City, Utah's trails

Lora Smith, Executive Director

Spirit of Collaboration

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A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of informing two other nonprofit directors that, through its Community Partnership with Park City Mountain and Vail Resorts EpicPromise, MTF will be adding cash to their coffers. South Summit Trails Foundation (SSTF, Kamas Valley) and Wasatch Trails Foundation (WTF, Heber Valley) are small-ish nonprofits doing great work and, though their aspirations to improve trail access are admirable, their budgets are modest. Even as people in those communities rally and donate in support of down-the-street recreation, trail projects that greatly improve the quality of life in these communities are often stymied by lack of funding.

Depending on terrain and other factors, every mile of proposed trail demands an up front investment of $20,000+. Not including the cost of future maintenance, which in a changing/drying environment is increasingly important. Grant funding often covers only half the cost of a project. So, when you’re looking at, say, ten miles of trail . . . well, do the math. Small nonprofits have their hands tied.

Mountain Trails Foundation has a long history of experience and success in the fundraising, trail building arena. Thanks to visionary leaders, generous donors and unparalleled community support, we have the bandwidth to share. We are thrilled to step up, lend expertise where needed, financially invest in and collaborate with SSTF and WTF. As we unify efforts to improve quality of life on the Wasatch Back through responsible trail expansion and strategic connectivity, I pause to marvel at how the stars have aligned for this coalition. This opportunity expands MTF’s mission to build, maintain and protect trails and is one of the greatest honors we have ever enjoyed. 

Thank you Park City Mountain/Vail Resorts EpicPromise, South Summit Trails Foundation, Wasatch Trails Foundation and Trail Lovers like you!

Pitch In Here for Tomorrow’s Trails

What Is and What Should Never Be

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And if you say to me tomorrow ~ Oh what fun it all would be ~Then what’s to stop us, pretty baby ~ But. . . What Is and What Should Never Be

– Led Zeppelin
Photo Courtesy Dirt Coast Photography

Growing up in LA with hippy parents back in the 70’s pretty much guaranteed that I would turn out with rock n roll music and philosophy stitched into the very fabric of my being. So please, allow some grace here – rock n roll poetry is seared so deeply into the fissures of my brain that it spontaneously erupts in the most unexpected moments. . . like now, as I struggle to craft a message explaining in two short paragraphs, the strategy developed by no fewer than 12 stakeholders for Bonanza Flat’s management plan. And now I remember, Every Picture Tells A Story Don’t It? 

Below are two maps of one trail system at different points in time. . . is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say. . .  Look closely and you’ll see the first map resembles a spaghetti-bowl that was once the trail system (aka manmade disturbances) in Bonanza Flat. This was prior to the implementation, five years ago, of a hard-won, very expensive conservation/recreation easement. This map represents the ‘What Should Never Be’ Pretty Baby. 

What Is. . .  easy to see in the more recent map of the area is that illegal/social trails have disappeared. Those were the trails that Never Should Have Been. New trails – many of which, where appropriate, are improved/re-routed legacy trails – were constructed to avoid wetlands, calving/nesting grounds and steep terrain. This improved system creates loops and connectivity to disperse trail use, moving people to the places they’ll enjoy while preserving conservation values. This is What Is and What Should Be.

As we the modern-day stewards of an ancient land, now called Bonanza Flat in the legal documents of a municipality and a land trust, work toward sustainable, environmentally friendly use of the land, I contemplate Mick Jagger’s words of wisdom, “The past is a great place and I don’t want to erase it or to regret it, but I don’t want to be its prisoner either.”

The future will come, so let’s embrace it, preserve it and enjoy it!

Bonanza Flat Conservation Area Manmade Disturbances. Courtesy Utah Open Lands
Bonanza Flat Conservation Area Initial and Summer Trails Map – manmade disturbance mitigation and trails master plan. Approved and adopted by Utah Open Lands, Park City Council, Mountain Trails Foundation. Courtesy Utah Open Lands
MAKE A TRIBUTE TO TRAILS

Honoring Landowners

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Photo Courtesy Dirt Coast Photography

Did you know that much of the Park City area trail system is on private land? From Deer Valley, across Park City Mountain and over to the Utah Olympic Park, many of the summer trail faves like Charlie’s 9K, Mid Mountain, Armstrong, Jenni’s, and my personal favorites on opposite sides of town, Keystone/Apex and Flagstaff/Bowhunter, are all accessible to the public, free of charge, through the grace of private landowners. Sure, the resorts benefit from summer lift ticket sales, but unlike sales to affluent ski tourist, bike haul to a free public trail system is not a business enterprise that justifies the investment of considerable resources our trail system perpetually requires (this is where MTF come into play). That said, we acknowledge that Deer Valley invests significantly in its wildly successful downhill/flow park – and yet, to those who are willing to ride up to the top (and sign an online waiver), the downhill trip is still free.

Bridging the gap between landowner permission and funding the maintenance/building of Park City’s free trail system is where Mountain Trails sets precedence. Our community’s model for building and maintaining a world-class trail system is, well. . . world-renowned. In fact, last week, IMBA referred a New Zealand nonprofit in need of advice on the art of coordinating private donations for a public trail system. Their big hang ups: lack of coordinated funding and poor-to-impossible communication with landowners. I couldn’t help but rejoice in the great fortune that Park City’s trail system exists on private land, is built with friendly, hand-shake agreements and is supported by a widespread understanding that trails are good for people.

As we move toward a summer chockfull of projects that will improve safety, flow, sustainability and enjoyability of this unique trail system, the MTF board and staff proudly honor the cooperation of private landowners, land trusts and local government that make 400 miles of free trail available to all. With a willingness to collaborate and entrust MTF with the coordination of a trail system that provides public access to private land, our entire community is elevated. Lucky us. 

Gratefully, 

Lora Smith, Executive Director

Mountain Trails Foundation

Everyday Volunteers

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Volunteers are, by definition, those who willingly render service without expectation of compensation. While raising my sons, there came a summer when I forced them out of the house into the real world of volunteerism. In my household back in the day, the phrase ‘willingly render service’ was up for debate, but they were out of the house nonetheless. Challenged to find work for my young men, I thankfully discovered the good people at the Christian Center of Park City’s food pantry were willing to put to work a set of cantankerous teenaged boys. I know full well that my boys’ behavior improved as soon as I drove away – and I also know that the nice folks at the food pantry were patient and kind even while slowed down by their new helpers. Seven years later, those grouchy teenagers are wonderful young men (bias acknowledged), just barely enlightened enough to now admit the benefits they derived from getting out of their own heads and serving others.

So it is at this time every year, when MTF receives an abundance of requests from volunteers eager to work on trails, that I step back to consider the significance of volunteerism to MTF and to society. Volunteerism is strategically valuable not only in getting trial work done, but also in developing a positive trail culture. It is against these immense benefits that the challenges presented by volunteer events are weighed. Dig Days can be logistically challenging and also time intensive for our already overly-committed crew. Yet in acknowledging the societal gains and our duty to community, MTF has committed to monthly Dig Days and several Trailhead Meet & Greets throughout the coming summer.

Yet, never to turn away a set of helping hands, I hereby propose an addition to the way volunteers are utilized for the benefit of trails. It takes the management of volunteers out of the crew’s hands and puts it in the public’s hands. . . literally. It’s the Everyday Volunteer Program, organized by citizens at large and fully funded by goodwill and ambition. It works like this. . .

Everyday Volunteers, first and always, offer a friendly smile and a positive word to fellow trail users – this is the easiest part because it is highly infectious and already common practice. Everyday Volunteers can also bring a set of pruners to gently and modestly clip back that nasty overhanging snag or shin-grabber. Everyday Volunteers pick up extra dog waste, perform random 10-minute trailhead tidy-ups, submit beautiful photos for the MTF photo contest/content library, and stop to send MTF a pin drop where there is a blow-down or trail safety problem.

And the real glory of the Everyday Volunteer Program is that it is perfectly flexible, replicable, performed in a mostly-convenient moment by trail users of any age or ability and has enormous, meaningful and expanding impact. 

On behalf all trail users, we extend gratitude in advance to the Everyday Volunteers who make our trails what they are: wonderful community spaces!

I look forward to seeing you out there. . . every day. 

Lora Smith
Executive Director

Spring Rebirth and Growth

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Nearly three months of xc skiing Round Valley almost every day has taught me a little about myself – and perhaps about human nature. That is, when it comes to routine outdoor endeavors, we frequently seek the path of convenience and efficiency, but only until such time as that strategy ceases to fulfill a need for adventure. Round Valley is the epitome of convenience for many. And, in a day when demanding schedules rule, efficiency is available on the trails as well. I mean, really, what is more efficient than hitting the trails to achieve a workout, a mental health session and possibly a social engagement or exercise for Fido all in one outing?

And, it certainly doesn’t hurt that, despite a lack of snowfall, Round Valley’s trail conditions have held up to a quality beyond comprehension, offering a high degree of fun-factor. It is genuinely astonishing what the grooming crew has been able to eek out of 4 inches of base. Here at MTF, we’d be millionaires if we had a dollar for every time some happy trail user enthusiastically stated, “thank goodness we have Round Valley!” Yes, thank goodness.

But, eventually, often in late February, the giddiness of winter wears off and boredom sets in. So, to shake things up, a long weekend in the desert ensued. Daytime temps in the upper 40’s, air crisp blue gleaming toward purple, and the trails dry, red and gloriously lonesome prompted broad smiles and gratitude for the outdoors. Panoramic vistas across a quiet, dead-calm desert to the snow-capped La Sal’s in the distance awakened the spirit of spring. Something about the way the warmth of the sun sinks into winter-worn bones and the stillness of wilderness clarifies thought that renews a connection to the earth and a sense of adventure. Yes, three days in the desert – that vastness called The West – is the perfect uplift this time of year.

As we flow into spring, the season of rebirth and growth, I wish you each the best in arranging your time, maybe for a few moments, maybe for a few glorious desert days, to connect with the excitement and adventure that the coming of the next season presents.  

See you out there,

Lora Smith, MTF Executive Director

Cross-country skiing, now open to the public, on the Osguthorpe Farm

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Collaboration Wins

Dana Jones (Director, Basin Recreation), Lora Smith (Executive Director, Mountain Trails) and Cheryl Fox (Executive Director, Summit Land Conservancy) officially open xc skiing on the Osguthorpe Farm/GreenHeart

If ever there was a project that defined the word ‘collaboration’ this is it! MTF is elated to be part of the team bringing a much-needed, long-awaited, beginner-accessible, dog-free, ski-only venue to Summit County. 

Cross-country skiing, now open to the public, on the Osguthorpe Farm (aka the GreenHeart of the Basin) exemplifies a community effort between the Osguthorpe Family, Summit Land Conservancy, Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District (Basin Rec) and Mountain Trails Foundation (MTF). Donations from the Promontory Foundation and a private donor funded this project. While Summit Land Conservancy holds the conservation easement and coordinated with the Osguthorpe Family, going forward, MTF will provide annual track design/layout and Basin Rec will provide regular winter grooming, tagging it onto their schedule for the adjacent Willow Creek winter trail system. 

To give credit where credit is due, the idea for skiing on the GreenHeart was originally the brainchild of, no surprise, Charlie Sturgis, MTF’s former director and ski enthusiast of the highest order. When the GreenHeart came under conservation, Charlie promptly recognized the opportunity to play – again, to those who know him, no big surprise. Now, several years, meetings and contracts later, we have arrived with an amenity that serves the public appetite for fun. Way to go, Boss! Your legacy lives on.

Also deserving of fist pumps is MTF’s very own Trails Manager, Rick, for employing his winter trail expertise on tricky, late season conditions and for coordinating the track layout directly with Steve O. It’s not every day one’s job involves taking a farmer out for a January snowmobile ride on a sugar-snow covered hay field. 

At every turn, this was a group effort and, for many proud years to come, the Osguthorpe Farm/GreenHeart cross-country ski area will be a shining gem in our winter trail system. We look forward to seeing xc skiers of all types adopting the GreenHeart as their own – caring for the land and caring for one another. 

On behalf of  Basin Rec, Summit Land Conservancy and MTF, I extend warm gratitude to a community that supports our work and understands that ‘Trails and Land Go Hand in Hand!’

See you out there,

Lora Smith, MTF Executive Director