Sometimes, you just have to have patience.
This summer, Five Valleys, Republic Services, Inc., and the City of Missoula will expand the trails network in the North Hills. While the trails may be new, the vision has been 15 years in the making.
In 2010, Five Valleys partnered with Allied Waste, the company that formerly owned the Missoula landfill, to place a conservation easement across 300 acres of their land in the heart of the North Hills, north of Interstate 90. The project protected the land for wildlife, agricultural soils, and scenic views. But that wasn’t all. Allied Waste asked that the easement include a public trail corridor, should a public access connection to the property be identified. Yet, at the time, no public access connections existed. So, the partners waited.
Years passed. Allied Waste became Republic Services, Inc. Then, in 2019, Five Valleys protected the 124-acre Bluebird Preserve directly to the west. Later that year, Five Valleys transferred the Bluebird Preserve to the City of Missoula, who began building trails. The Bluebird Preserve’s 2+ miles of trail opened in 2023. With public access to the Republic Services easement now in place, the time was ripe.
The process to refine the trails plan began almost two years ago. When complete this summer, Five Valleys will steward the land in partnership with Republic Services and the City of Missoula will manage the trails.
While the parcel may buffer the landfill, you’d hardly know it. The planned trails will encircle the property, meandering through grassland hills and draws while offering outstanding views of the Missoula Valley.
To support elk habitat, the Republic Services trails will close in winter. And, while the new trails will expand public access from the Bluebird Preserve, they will not connect to the Moon-Randolph Homestead or the Waterworks trails to the east. The generosity of private landowners is what made this project possible: please do your part and respect private property boundaries.
Five Valleys and our partners look forward to inviting the public to enjoy new trails in the North Hills later this year!
Header photo by Paul Lebel
