Photo: Gateway to Glacier Trails

When all is said and done, the Cedar Flats Trail System just north of Columbia Falls, Montana, will consist of 25 miles of multi-use singletrack. The massive project was undertaken by Gateway to Glacier Trails, the local advocacy group.

And now that they are done with the more beginner-friendly trails in phases I and II, the group is moving on to a more challenging 13-mile phase III.

Photo: Seth Anderson Photography

Cedar Flats provides more riding opportunities for Columbia Falls

Columbia Falls is just north of Kalispell, Montana, on the doorstep of Glacier National Park. And while riding opportunities surround the area, there aren’t any trail systems close to the city itself.

“Prior to the construction of Cedar Flats, local residents were packing their bikes up and traveling to nearby towns to ride established trails,” Amanda Minatra, Program Coordinator for Gateway to Glacier Trails, told Singletracks.

The project first landed on people’s radars in 2017, but shovels didn’t hit the dirt until the fall of 2021. In less than five years, Gateway to Glacier Trails built 12 miles of singletrack, two trailheads, and multiple pullouts where trails crossed access roads.

Photos: Gateway to Glacier Trails

Minatra told us that the goal for the first two phases of the Cedar Flats project was to get beginner and intermediate mileage on the ground. Many of the beginner trails lean toward the flowier side, with elevation gains and losses of anywhere from 100 to 200 feet. The intermediate offerings step things up, being both longer and having more elevation. Cedar Ridge, a popular blue trail, trades 500 feet of elevation depending on the direction it is ridden.

These trails are also closer to town, providing easier access to the local community, with the ultimate goal of getting more people out on the trails. As more and more of the community utilized the network, they would be more apt to push even further into the trail system.

Once “community involvement and momentum” were rolling, Gateway to Glacier Trails would “execute the larger and more technical Phase III trails.”

Photo: Jeremiah Martin

Phase III adds 13 more miles

“The first four miles of Phase III are in progress this summer,” Minatra told us.

The highlight of this third phase is a 9-mile loop trail on nearby Kelly Ridge. Staying true to its name, the ridge will provide quite a bit more elevation to the trail system and lean more toward intermediate/advanced riding. Minatra said that the 9-mile loop will have around 1,500 feet of elevation gain and loss. Gateway to Glacier Trails is currently working on “TR08,” which Minatra explained is the primary trail from the ridge summit to the valley floor.

The group aims to complete this section of the loop this summer.

All the trails at Cedar Flats are/will be multi-use and multi-directional. Bikers can expect to encounter hikers, trail runners, and equestrians using the system, with both Gateway to Glacier Trails and the Flathead National Forest emphasizing proper trail etiquette.

Gateway to Glacier Trails mentioned that while Cedar Flats is a non-motorized trail system, at its heart the system is intended to be multi-use. No trails in the system are intended only for mountain bikes or are designed to be “mountain bike-specific,” necessarily. However, Minatra said that mountain bikers will still be pleased, and that they are already seeing “heavy mountain bike traffic” on the trails.

Photo: Jeremiah Martin

“One of our contractors, Pete Costain, owner of Terraflow Trails and one of the founders of local Legacy Bike Park, is a well-known, respected, and award-winning trailbuilder with an incredible resume of top-tier bike trails,” she said. “Terraflow is currently working on the upper portion of TR08, and we’re certain mountain bikers will enjoy it.”

Montana Made Trails is also involved in the machine-built portions of the trail.

Teamwork makes the dream work

Gateway to Glacier Trails also partnered with DREAM Adaptive Recreation to make part of the Cedar Flats Trail System accessible for adaptive riders. Minatra said that the group conducted an accessibility study and currently utilizes Cedar Flats to host rides and some of their programming.

She also mentioned working with the Flathead Area Mountain Bikers and the Montana Conservation Corps on a few vital projects. “Like building turnpikes in low-lying flood areas, or turning an old, nearly unridable, motorized connector trail into a flowy multiuse connected trail.”

To date, Cedar Flats has been fully funded through federal, state, and local grants. Where grant funding didn’t reach, Minatra said private donations covered the need. As long as funding continues to come in, Gateway to Glacier Trails expects to complete all 25 miles within the next five years. But because Phase III is more technical, backcountry-style trails, they expect expenses to be a bit higher than the previous mileage.

“We’re proud of this system,” Minatra concluded. “Once complete, it will have something for everyone. From beginner-friendly flow trails providing a great introduction to mountain biking, to more technical, backcountry feel with some challenge. This type of accessibility so close to town is something we’re really excited about.”