It Will Soon Be Easier to Cycle Yellowstone

By Charles Pekow — If you like to bike through the outback in Montana, you’ll be able to enjoy two new possibilities.

The long-sought Yellowstone Shortline Trail should become reality this year in Custer-Gallatin National Forest in Montana. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) plans to pave 8.75 miles of the former Oregon Short Line Railroad line between West Yellowstone, MT, and the Idaho border near Reas Pass. The 10-foot-wide paved trail will include three concrete and one wooden bridge. USFS also plans to improve access roads and include historical interpretive signs, benches, and pavilions.

USFS is seeking a contractor and plans to start paving this spring.

A grant through the Great American Outdoors Act and individual contributions are funding the project. Details: https://yellowstoneshortlinetrail.org/

And under the federal Forest Legacy Program; the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has bought 772 acres of the Bad Rock Canyon along the Flathead River near Columbia Falls for a wildlife management area. The plan includes a bike trail built by Gateway to Glacier Trail, Inc., a local non-profit. Ebikes won’t be allowed, however.