Support Valley County Pathways in its quest to build a valley-wide trail system from Cascade to McCall

New "singletrack sidewalk" trail along Heinrich Lane, south of McCall 

Hi all,

On the fourth and final day of Idaho Gives, I'd like to encourage you to support Valley County Pathways, a nonprofit group I've been leading for almost 20 years.  

Our vision is to build a 70-mile, valley-wide trail system from Cascade to McCall and New Meadows, where we could connect to the Weiser River Trail. 

Put another way, our quest is to build a trail system that matches the grandeur of Long Valley.

For this year's Idaho Gives campaign, our goal is $15,000. We've received a pledge from a trail supporter who will match all of our contributions up to $15,000, for a total potential of $30,000. 

Our new video tells our story. 

We are inspired by the Boise River Greenbelt, the Wood River Trail and the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. Those long-distance trails are the pride of their communities, and anyone and everyone can enjoy them. 

My feeling is we have 10 years to get a valley-wide trail system in place in Valley County, or we may never get it done. We need to act now! And that takes money! 

I got started with Valley County Pathways in 2004, not long after the first $10M open space measure passed for the Boise Foothills. I was heavily involved in that open space campaign, and I still feel like it's one of the most important things I've done in my life. It was so cool to be part of a broad grass-roots effort that got embraced by the whole Boise community. 

From that experience, I learned that we can shape and enhance our communities and landscapes with new trails, open spaces and wildlife habitat with a LOT of DEDICATION and HARD WORK! 

I've been trying to walk the talk for 30 years. In 1992, I was the founding president of the SW Idaho Mountain Biking Association (SWIMBA), when Ridge to Rivers was just getting started. We all wanted to improve our trail systems. SWIMBA partnered with Boise REI and R2R to build Shane's Trail, Sidewinder, Trail #1 over to Bob's, Redtail Ridge, and Seaman's Gulch trails in the 1990s. 

Erin and Ed Roper ride in the grand opening of trails in McCall, a VCP event. 

At the same time, I was producing new trail guides like Mountain Biking in Boise, Mountain Biking in McCall, and Mountain Biking in Idaho (80 rides statewide).  

So I was a pretty well-traveled trail guy when I started working full-time for Tamarack Resort in government affairs in 2003. I knew there was an abandoned railroad line that ran through the middle of the valley, and I saw the abundance of public land along the western shoreline of Lake Cascade. I read that the Bureau of Reclamation recommended a walking/biking trail around Lake Cascade in a resource management plan, and my eyes just about popped out of my head! 

We started Valley County Pathways at a time when the Rails to Trails movement was taking off big-time nationwide. 

Eleanor Putman speaks at the trail dedication in 2006
on the north end of the Crown Point Trail.  

But it turned out that the old rail line from McCall to Cascade had been abandoned in 1979, pre-dating national legislation that gave railroad companies tax incentives to gift rail lines to nonprofit groups for conversion to recreation trails. The old railroad line in Valley reverted to private ownership in many locations, so that has made our work much more difficult. 

A few landowners, including the Putman Family and the Whiteman Family, have gifted old RR line property to Valley County Pathways, for which we're eternally grateful.

Long story short, since 2004, we have built the bookends of a trail system in Cascade and McCall. Now we're working on bridging the gaps in the middle of the valley. 

Hugh Fulton, right, and Damon Yerkes on the Boulder Creek Trail. 

Currently, we are partnering with Valley County Parks and Recreation to craft a 5-year and 10-year build-out plan for the valley-wide trail system. We know the price tag will exceed $5M.      

I'm super excited about the whole thing. 

There's a ton of state and federal money available right now for trail projects. We need private funds to provide match for projects, provide steady upkeep on our trails, and to assist with trail construction. We also partner with our friends with the Central Idaho Mountain Biking Association, the West Central Mountains Economic Development Council, the McCall Chamber of Commerce, the City of McCall Parks and Recreation Department, the City of Donnelly, and the community of Cascade to stretch our trail dollars as far as possible. 

I don't usually ask people to donate to any particular cause in my blog, but this is a case that's dear to my heart. Please do what you can for Valley County Pathways! 

Thank you! 
- SS 

The North Valley Rail-Trail doubles as a xc ski, snowshoe and snow bike trail. 

Come walk, run or bike in McCall for the Mountain Pathways Celebration on Saturday

Hi all,

Valley County Pathways and St. Luke's McCall are teaming up on a new event, the Mountain Pathways Celebration, on Saturday, Aug. 5th, from 8 a.m. to noon. Please come if you're in the 'hood! 

This is a family friend, kid-friendly non-competitive event with a Bounce House at the Start/Finish and live music from a local DJ pro. 

We want to celebrate pathways in the greater McCall, Valley County and West Central Mountains region by hosting an event on McCall city pathways and the North Valley Trail. You can walk, run or bike for 1, 2.5, 5 or 10 miles. Entry fee is $5/person. You can pre-register online. Same-day registration is OK, too.  

For the 5-mile course, we'll shuttle people out to the south end of the North Valley Trail in the outskirts of McCall, so they can experience the full sweep of the beautiful trail along the tree-lined old railroad line, pass by the Activity Barn, McCall Airport and Smokejumper Base, and then cruise into downtown McCall on city pathways to the Start/Finish area behind City Hall. 

The event is a fund-raiser for Valley County Pathways, a non-profit group that's been working on developing a system of valley-wide trails that would connect the communities of Cascade, Donnelly, Lake Fork and McCall. 

Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes 

We all know how cool it is to experience long-distance pathways in beautiful settings such as the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes in North Idaho, the Boise River Greenbelt, and the Wood River Trail from Bellevue to Ketchum/Sun Valley. 

In the early- and mid-2000s, when I was working in government affairs for Tamarack Resort, I joined a number of citizens who wanted to put together a plan for long-distance trails in Long Valley. We wrote the first Master Plan in 2005. Since February of this year, I've been working on updating the Master Plan, with a new map and fresh priorities. The plan was approved by Valley County P&Z in March, and Valley County Commissioners in July. Big milestone for VC Pathways! We had 108 letters of support! 

The West Central Mountains' America's Best Community campaign asked us to update the Master Plan, and they see further pathway development as a big priority for the region in a 21-point economic revitalization plan. Now that our plan is approved, we can move forward with working on future pathways in high-priority areas throughout the valley. 

Back to the Mountain Pathways Celebration event ... the trail is nearly flat the entire way with a couple of short uphills and downhills. Very kid friendly for all ages. Seniors too!

We want folks to have fun at this event! Costumes are encouraged. We'll have music at the 

Start/Finish area, coffee, fruit and muffins. We'll have multiple aid stations with fun activities or treats. Scavenger hunts are planned for kids. 

Here's another reason to come ... we have some great raffle items from McCall businesses, including:  

• Hala Hoss SUP $1,100.00 value, donated by River Gear, a paddle shop in Cascade. 
• Yeti cooler, $199 value from May Hardware
• Cheap Thrills ½ day Wave-Runner rental $175 value
• Four passes to open skating at Manchester Ice Center
• Two gift certificates for three movie rentals at Sunset Video
• Two ½-day SUP rental from McCall Sports Exchange
• Two $25 G.C.’s to McCall Jewelry 
• Lift tickets to Tamarack Resort
• Ski tune packages from Kurt Wolf 
• Full-day mountain bike rental from Gravity Sports

We'd also like to thank our event co-sponsors Mida Gold and McCall Parks & Recreation for their support.

Prizes: Bring a prize to share at the event ... toys or stuffed animals for kids, used recreation gear, hats, whatever you think someone else might want!

To make things go smooth on the course, we plan on starting the walkers/runners first, and the cyclists afterwards. 

Bring your own water bottle, please! You can refill at our aid stations. 

For more information, go to valleycountypathways.org.  

Five fabulous kid- and family-friendly bike rides in Cascade and McCall

Kids do amazingly well on the Bear Basin Trails in McCall 

Barb and Paul ride a boardwalk on the Shoreline Trail at Jug Mountain Ranch 

Dropping into Upper Drain in Bear Basin 

Cindy and Steve Jones on the North Valley Trail, south of McCall 

Hi all,

The weather is warming up and many people from the Treasure Valley will be heading up to Cascade or McCall to stay cool, maybe take a swim and hang out at the cabin or go camping.

Audio from 94.9 FM The River for this segment. 

My own family has a wedding in McCall this weekend, so we're gearing up for that. In the spirit of enjoying the green and forested setting in Valley County, I'm offering up five fabulous kid- and family-friendly bike rides to consider when you're in the neighborhood. I've blogged about many other more expert trails in the area, but this week, it's about kids and families. These trails are just fine for adults, too, especially those who like a relatively low-key experience.  

I'll start with the easiest trails and work up from there. All of the trails except the Strand are featured in my guide, Mountain Biking in McCall.

1. The Strand in Cascade -  Kid-friendly rating ***** The Strand runs parallel to the North Fork of the Payette River from the south Hwy 55 bridge trailhead in Cascade to a point just short of Water's Edge RV Park. It's 2.2 miles one-way. At the north end trailhead, you just turn-around and ride back to the south bridge trailhead. This ride is cool because it runs along the river, where you might see wildlife, and then it also runs by Kelly's Whitewater Park, where you can see kayakers and surfers play in the waves. Plus, there's a nice lawn there and places where you can walk down to the river's edge and watch as close as you want. 

The Strand along the North Fork of the Payette River 

2. Crown Point Trail in Cascade - Kid-friendly rating ***** This trails runs alongside Lake Cascade from the Crown Point camping area 3 miles to the north trailhead at Vista Point Road. It's an out-and-back ride on a mostly flat surface with pine trees bordering the trail on both sides, or really nice lake views off to the west, plus West Mountain towers above on the opposite shore. There are some sweet beaches directly adjacent to the trail, where you could hang out and have a picnic, go swimming or just relax. Getting there: Take Lake Way from ID 55 to a point where it ends by the campground. There's a small parking area by the trailhead for Crown Point Trail. 

Spacious beaches next to the Crown Point Trail look inviting 

3. North Valley Trail - Kid-friendly rating **** The North Valley Trail is a little more challenging than Crown Point Trail because it has some singletrack sections, which might be difficult for young riders. Ideally, I recommend starting on the greenbelt path next to the City of McCall offices on Park Street in downtown McCall, and ride the paved pathway out south to where the path ends by the McCall Smokejumper Base on Mission Street. Go left (south) along Mission Street, pick up the paved pathway in River Ranch, keep riding south, and then follow signs to the North Valley Trail. It's about 1.5 miles or so from downtown to this point, and then it's another 3.5 miles on the North Valley Trail to Heinrich Lane. The trail ends here, so it's five miles back to the start; 10 miles total. The North Valley Trail is very scenic -- it runs by a large wetland pond, where you can see water birds, and it's bordered by pine trees for most of its course. It's a mix of two-track and singletrack on the old RR ROW. 

North Valley Trail is bordered by pines 

4. Bear Basin - Kid-friendly rating **** For kids 8 and up, the Bear Basin Trails are a perfect place to take the family for a low-key ride. The trail map shows green, blue and black trails by difficulty, which is helpful for those riding the area for the first time. I led a big group of my family on an intermediate ride last summer, starting on Baby Bear, dropping into the shadows of big trees on Sleepy Hollow, then climbing Blue Ridge to Upper Drain, a challenging switchback trail with big bermed corners. Even people who have never ridden banked corners do amazingly well when they try it for the first time. If it's too scary for some folks, have them walk down the trail. Upper Drain runs into Grand Traverse (not signed), the first singletrack trail you come to. Go left and return to Baby Bear junction. Try different routes and have fun in Bear Basin! 

5. Jug Mountain Ranch - Kid-friendly rating **** Jug Mountain Ranch continues to add more trails and knock it out of the park in terms of trail design and big fun factor. They've got a shuttle service to make it easy to reach the top of their trail system, or you can climb to Jug Mountain Reservoir and enjoy a super fun gravity ride downhill. The trail everyone is raving about lately is Berm N Ernie. Check out of the video and see what you think! Download their trail map here. One possible short loop is to ride the South Elk Loop, return to the trailhead area and take Basic Training to Mid-Mountain doubletrack, then take the lower part of Berm N Ernie back to the start. Or, take South Elk to the South Boundary Road, climb to the reservoir, ride Shoreline around the lake, descend on Vandelay, Harper's Hollow and finish on North Elk. JMR has a cool overnight shelter at Jug Mountain Reservoir that you can rent. Call (208) 634-5072 for more information. 

Have fun! - SS