Greetings, Beacon Nation. Tristan Scott here to unspool your Tuesday compendium of news and information, including an overview of a new trail segment that Whitefish community leaders will dedicate tomorrow.
Indeed, the Whitefish Trail has crept three miles up the flank of Big Mountain, and on Wednesday evening the people who built it will cut a ribbon on the newest link in a chain of trails stitching together the face of the Whitefish Divide.
Whitefish Legacy Partners, the nonprofit organization behind the Whitefish Trail, and Whitefish Mountain Resort are inviting the community to celebrate the new section on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The trail forms a connection between the Whitefish Trail’s Reservoir Trailhead in Haskill Basin, the resort, and the developing trail network in Hellroaring Basin, expanding outdoor recreation on Big Mountain for hikers, runners, and bikers, including those on Class 1 e-bikes.
Refreshments begin at 4:30 p.m. at a gathering area set up at the top of the existing Whitefish Trail singletrack on Bob Cedar Trail, which attendees can reach from either the Big Mountain Trailhead or the Willow Tail parking lot near the Base Lodge (see map below). A ribbon cutting at the new trail follows at 5:30 p.m., then a walk to the boardwalk that winds through a cedar grove (see above photo). The celebration concludes by 6:30 p.m.
“This new section is an exciting step toward connecting the Whitefish Trail across the face of the Whitefish Divide,” said Jedd Sankar-Gorton, program director at Whitefish Legacy Partners. “It reflects what’s possible when community partners work together to expand access to the outdoors while caring for the lands and natural resources that make this place special.”
Built through a partnership between Whitefish Legacy Partners and the resort, the trail improves summer recreation connectivity across the mountain, and the payoff runs in several directions at once.
“This connection is an important development for everyone who hikes, runs, and bikes around Whitefish Mountain Resort,” said Josh Knight, the resort’s events and terrain park manager. “It improves access to our Base Lodge as well as our network of lift-served downhill mountain biking trails, and it provides an alternate way to access the Summit Trail, our other two-directional trail open to bikes. We’re proud to have worked with Whitefish Legacy Partners on this project.”
The new section will also serve as the future connection into Hellroaring Basin and the Taylor-Hellroaring Community Trails, a collaboration led by Flathead Area Mountain Bikers and the Forest Service that grew out of the Whitefish Face Working Group formed in 2014. As the Beacon reported Sept. 30, the project aims to build more than 20 miles of nonmotorized trail linking Haskill Basin to Werner Peak, with connections to Red Meadow on the Ralph Thayer National Memorial Trail; crews broke ground in 2025 and this year began six miles of multi-use trail below Taylor Creek Road. The Whitefish Trail’s own link from the resort into Hellroaring Basin is planned to open in 2027-28, an important milestone in Whitefish Legacy Partners’ effort to “Close the Loop” of the Whitefish Trail, with connections to Smith Lake, Holbrook Overlook, and the Whitefish Trail in Haskill.
For the first time, the Whitefish Trail at the resort will be open to Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes, a decision made collaboratively by Whitefish Legacy Partners and the resort that provides an approved Whitefish Trail option for the growing number of e-bike users. On-site maps and signs will identify the approved e-bike routes, including a lower loop that incorporates Bob Cedar, and riders should consult the posted maps and follow all route designations when planning an outing. All lift-served downhill bike trails in the resort’s Bike Park remain closed to e-bikes.
Construction was made possible by grant funding from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ Recreational Trails Program and Trails Stewardship Program, matching funds from local donors, and support from the resort for the boardwalk and trail.
The trail can be reached from several points on the mountain: below the Big Mountain Trailhead, at the end of the Willow Tail and Larch parking lots, near the bus stop at the Base Lodge, and at the top of “B-Sides” in the Whitefish Bike Park. Maps and signs will help users navigate.
Whitefish Legacy Partners is a nonprofit whose community-minded vision ensures conservation, recreation, and education on the lands around Whitefish for future generations. The cornerstone of its work, the Whitefish Trail, is a 55-plus-mile, non-motorized, multi-recreational trail system with 15 trailheads surrounding Whitefish Lake. For more information, visit whitefishlegacy.org.
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