Gateway to Glacier Trail

The project that started it all - providing a safe, shared-use path to connect communities in the greater Glacier area

The vision to complete a safe, off-highway path for citizens from Columbia Falls to West Glacier came from Gateway to Glacier Trails founder Val Parsons. After one too many white-knuckled bike rides along the highway into West Glacier, Val put her idea in motion and, after many years of hard work, Gateway to Glacier Trails became an official nonprofit in 2011.

Full history

Over 50 years ago, in the 1970’s, a local student 4H club called The Canyon Mountaineers worked hard to plan and present to government officials and the highway department the need for a bike and horse trail from Hungry Horse to Glacier National Park. Later in the 70’s and 80’s, local nonprofit The Canyon Coalition was formed to influence the design of Highway 2 from Hungry Horse to West Glacier, including the addition of a bike path from Hungry Horse to Coram - which they and the 4H students are responsible for. 

With that foundation laid, fast forward to 2010, when Gateway to Glacier Trails was formed by West Glacier resident Val Parsons. We became an official nonprofit in 2011, with the mission to build a safe, complete off-highway bike path from Columbia Falls to West Glacier. 

After years of hard work, connecting with the community and fundraising from Val and many other volunteers, in 2016 we completed construction from Coram to West Glacier. This phase also included a Welcome Gazebo in Hungry Horse. Acting as a staging area, the gazebo provides a safe, off-trail area to park vehicles and access the trail. The gazebo was built from parts of the Old Steel Bridge in Kalispell and designed by local Metaphoric Artist, Jeffrey Funk.   

Fall of 2018 saw the completion of the South Fork of the Flathead bridge reconstruction. This included a separated path on the bridge, as well as access from the path to the west side of the South Fork of the Flathead River.  

In 2020, we completed a one-mile stretch of paved path in Columbia Falls beginning on the East side of the bridge at River Road to the intersection of Hwy 2 and 206.

In 2022, we formed an Exploratory Committee to assess the status and feasibility of a potential HWY 2 reconstruction project that would include the Gateway to Glacier Trail segment from Columbia Falls to Hungry Horse.

Today the efforts of our Exploratory Committee continue, and we are also in the process of funding and working with both MDT and the County to install additional signage, bike racks and bike repair stations along the trail. 

You can find the early history of the trail memorialized on our welcome gazebo in Hungry Horse.

Our ultimate plan is one connected, paved, safe off-highway path from Columbia Falls to West Glacier!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Click here to donate to this project.