Pitching a ride: Bozeman community invited to help design new Bikefill park

By Lilly Keller

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Gravel grinders and mountain bikers are one step closer to having a permanent place to ride from dawn to dusk.

Earlier this month, the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, in partnership with the City of Bozeman and the Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association, issued a call for public comment to help shape the design of a new 66-acre bike park adjacent to the Snowfill Recreation Area, on land provided by the city.

“The vision for Bikefill is a place for all abilities to be able to enjoy mountain biking, but also to learn, progress and enjoy the other types of riding that are around as well,” GVLT Trails program manager Adam Johnson said.

First announced this summer, the project is the culmination of more than a decade of discussion and brainstorming on how best to use the site, which remained vacant for years after the city used its soil to cap the adjacent landfill, limiting future development.

The park, fittingly named Bikefill, will transform the otherwise unusable land into a dedicated bike area while helping to ease the growing demand on Bozeman’s other multi-use trails. Once completed, the park will feature more than five miles of new trails for all ages and abilities, reserved only for biking.

“We know that our trails around the entire Gallatin Valley are seeing more and more use, and the more people we have on a trail, the more user conflict you start to see, so Bikefill ... we really see as a place to allow the cyclists to be cyclists,” Johnson said.

After a fundraising campaign that attracted more than 800 donors to the estimated $4.5 million project, Johnson said the project is entering its next phase, seeking community input through an online survey and in-person workshops.

So far, the response has been strong, with more than 600 people already weighing in. Of this feedback, Johnson said one thing is already clear: Families want a space they can actually use.

“Having stuff for the younger kids that are getting out to ride, as well as the beginner mountain bikers, and having a great safe place for that to occur has definitely been highlighted, and something that we don’t have a lot of in the community right now,” he said.

The park will be designed by Bozeman-based Integrated Trail Lab and Whitefish-based Terraflow, two firms Johnson said were chosen for their local presence, their understanding of local riding culture and sense of what the community is still missing.

After public feedback is collected, Johnson said he expects construction to begin next summer, with some rideable features ready by fall.

Once completed, maintenance will be overseen by the city and the Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association who will oversee the more technical aspects of upkeep.

Comments and community workshop times can be found and submitted online at the City’s Engage Bozeman website.

“We are here and listening to all concerns, ideas, or thoughts about the park,” Johnson said. “We want to hear from everyone.”