On the tail of a below-average winter, the Flathead Valley’s multi-use trails are poised to come into condition a little earlier this spring.
For some trail-users, that prospect won’t generate the same level of seasonal enthusiasm it might have in years past; after all, a scant snowpack afforded opportunities to run and hike and walk dogs on local, low-elevation trails all winter long. But for a contingent of downhill mountain-bikers who seek out fast, flowy, feature-laden trails, the promise of an extended season at the pair of bike parks bookending the valley helps make up for a disappointing winter.
Anyone familiar the chairlift- and shuttle-accessed trail systems at Legacy Bike Park in Lakeside and at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Big Mountain is drawn to their steep drops, buffed-out berms and looping pump-tracks. But the trail systems share something else in common: they were both built by Terraflow, the Whitefish-based trail building company established in 2009.
Owned by longtime locals Pete and Linda Costain, Terraflow got its start building the foundational miles for the Whitefish Trail system, followed by a contract to create the original bike park trails at Whitefish Mountain Resort. As Costain refined his skills as an innovative “parkitecht,” Terraflow expanded its reach, taking on projects in Big Sky, including building the Yellowstone Club bike park.
In 2021, Costain launched Legacy Bike Park in Lakeside, a 500-acre piece of property owned by Terraflow and Whitefish-based custom homebuilders Mindful Designs. Since then, it’s become internationally known as one of the best bike parks in North America.
It also signaled a paradigm shift for trail builders who are increasingly taking their projects to private landowners as they encounter headwinds from public land management agencies, according to singletracks.com, a website specializing in mountain biking news and trail reviews. As more local mountain biking clubs struggle to gain approval for trail construction on U.S. Forest Service land, they’ve begun turning to private landowners.
For example, in 2025 the Bozeman chapter of the Southwest Montana Mountain Biking Association, The Dirt Concern, whose mission is to enhance trail access and quality in the region, worked with Terraflow to complete the first phase of an eight-phase build-out on land owned by Bridger Bowl Ski Area and the Crosscut Mountain Sports Center.
The groups worked tirelessly with private landowners and donors to provide the easements and funding for the Gallatin Valley’s first purpose built, progressive mountain bike trail.
Terraflow constructed three new trails in 2025, including the standout downhill flow trail “Gnomadic.” In February, Tarraflow earned top honors when singletracks.com named Gnomadic “Best Flow/Jump Trail of 2025,” selecting it out of 300 nominations.
“Flow trails are built specifically for mountain biking, emphasizing the riding experience more than the destination, with wide berms, rollers and jumps engineered to help riders maintain momentum and stay off the brakes,” Costain said, explaining that Gnomadic averages less than a 7% grade for 2.5 miles and features a large wooden overpass and a “creative array of features” suitable for a range of abilities, from adventurous beginners to expert riders.
Access to the trail is pedal-only and free of charge via the Crosscut trailhead in Bridger Canyon.
This summer, Terraflow breaks ground on Bikefill, a 66-acre, city-owned park in Bozeman that will feature trails for all styles, ages and abilities of riders, Costain said, from pump-tracks to skills parks to cross-country, cyclocross and flow trails. Bikefill will be Montana’s first full-scale civic bike park.
Meanwhile, in the Flathead Valley, the Flathead Area Mountain Bikers continue working with state and federal land management agencies to expand trails and trail access in the region even as the valley’s bike parks enjoy unprecedented use and popularity.
At Legacy Bike Park, located off U.S. Highway 93 approximately 2 miles south of Lakeside, riders can shuttle from the parking lot to the top of the trail system, where they can descend trails with names like Dirt Herder, Drift Missle and RADish. The park is open to the public Friday through Sunday beginning in May. For more information visit legacybikepark.com.
And at the valley’s northern terminus, Whitefish Mountain Resort boasts more than 20 miles of lift-accessed and cross-country biking trails. Slated to open May 23, more information is available at skiwhitefish.com.