'How trails are made': celebrating National Trails Day in Bozeman

Drizzling rain and dark clouds covering Bozeman did little to deter approximately 80 volunteers who spent National Trails Day maintaining infrastructure at Gallatin County Regional Park on Saturday.

Volunteers, with rain jacket hoods pulled firmly over their heads and water-soaked gardening gloves on their hands, wielded shovels, rakes, compactors, and wheelbarrows. The event, hosted by Gallatin Valley Land Trust, celebrates local trail systems, recreation opportunities, and community, per Matt Parsons, GVLT trails director.

“Now is actually the best time to compact a trail,” Parsons said, shoveling dirt from a trail into a growing mound. “This is my favorite day of the year. We’ve been celebrating National Trails Day for a long time, and it really helps us kickstart the season.”

The wet, blustery conditions, although suboptimal for humans, helps the sand, clay, and silt on trails mix together. When the sun dries the ground, it hardens.

This year, volunteers and GVLT staff worked on several projects, including widening and compacting social trails around the park, building a quarter-mile Wiggles Trail, spreading mulch to the Dinosaur Park and bouldering rocks, and picking up dog poop from the dog park.

“We try to make sure there’s something for everyone,” Parsons said. “It’s more than just a trail event. We want to have something people of all ages and abilities can participate in.”

The Gallatin County Regional Park was established in 2002. Encompassing 87 acres, the park contains two lakes, an amphitheater, a dog park, a playground, and a four-mile trail system.

For Parsons, the park is the “anchor” of the Main Street to Mountains Trail System, connecting Bozeman via paved and dirt pathways.

With trails stemming out of the north, southeast, and western corners of the park, Parsons said it will eventually be the hub for the 15-mile, uncompleted Raptor Route, stretching from Drinking Horse to the Regional Park, through Gallatin High School’s campus, before connecting with the Huffine pathway.

While the Regional Park is managed by the Gallatin County Fairgrounds, GVLT and other local nonprofits assist with upkeep and improvements.

“There’s constantly something going on here,” Parsons said. “It’s evolved over the years, and it’s really a community project.”

Founded in 1990, GVLT has been celebrating National Trails Day from its first recognition in 1991. This year, the volunteer event was held a week ahead of the national schedule to coincide with Bozeman high school graduations.

Over the last three decades, Trails Day projects have taken place across Bozeman, including at Pete’s Hill, Valley West Park, Painted Hills, Highland Glenn, the “Cow Trails” near the hospital, and Drinking Horse and the M Trail.

Mira Center, a Bozeman High School freshman, has been coming to Trails Day for as long as she can remember. She said she’s been looking forward to the event all week.

“It’s a little more fun when it’s not raining, but the rain gives it its own kind of fun,” Center said, raking gravel across the Wiggles Trail. “You get wet, and then you get to eat food and dry off. It also gives me a good excuse not to do homework.”

Center attended the volunteer event with her father, Dan Center, who previously worked as GVLT’s trail project manager.

“Trails Day is super fun. If you haven’t done it before, you should do it at least once,” Center said. “You get to see how trails are made, and I think a lot of people don’t know how much work goes into making the trails all across Bozeman.”