Page 125 - Flathead Living Fall 2014

Urban Trails
Access to the outdoors right out your front door
A jogger pulls on her sneakers and heads out the door, her pony tail swing- ing as she runs a few blocks through town and disappears into a canopy of trees spiked with golden sunlight spattering gems onto the river below.
She passes a mother pushing a stroller who stops to watch the ducks do a dizzy dance in the sparkling water. Across the river a doe and her fawn move quietly through tall grass to reach the river.
It is common knowledge that the Flathead Valley area offers gorgeous trails in Glacier National Park, the Jewel Basin hiking areas and beyond, but some- times you don’t have to look farther than your own backyard for a lovely place to take a walk or run.
From the paved trail system in Whitefish to the old dirt road of the Swan River Nature Trail, there are miles of pathways that offer a convenient, safe and time-saving fix for the urge to get moving and air out. Many of the trails are also suitable for any human-powered endeavor, including bicycling and in-line skat- ing, and some also allow horses. They also can provide a transitional path for those recovering from an injury or surgery to get them back onto those mountain trails.
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