{"id":795441,"date":"2019-05-03T17:52:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T23:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/frisco-set-to-begin-major-trail-expansion-at-peninsula\/"},"modified":"2019-05-04T10:03:55","modified_gmt":"2019-05-04T16:03:55","slug":"frisco-set-to-begin-major-trail-expansion-at-peninsula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/frisco-set-to-begin-major-trail-expansion-at-peninsula\/","title":{"rendered":"Frisco set to begin major trail expansion at peninsula"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Mountain bikers take to the trails at the Frisco Peninsula Area.<\/strong>
\nHugh Carey \/ hcarey@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s a lot to look forward to for hikers, bikers and Nordic skiers in Frisco, as the town will soon begin work on a five-year plan to improve and expand the trail network at the Frisco Nordic Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe town council and the community of Frisco have been working on this for some time,\u201d said Pete Swenson, Frisco Nordic Center and trails manager. \u201cEveryone is excited to finally start moving dirt on the peninsula. \u2026 This is the last step. This is the culmination of more than three years of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trail improvements come as part of the town\u2019s Frisco Nordic Center Master Development Plan<\/a>, a document drafted in partnership with the Dillon Ranger District of the White River National Forest, meant to serve as a roadmap for the Nordic center and Peninsula Recreation Area, or PRA, over the next 20 years.<\/p>\n

Outlined as part of the master plan is a series of trail improvements throughout the PRA, including on both town-owned land and Forest Service land, operated through Frisco as part of a special use permit. Over the next three years, the town plans to build approximately 4.4 miles of new Nordic trails, along with about 10.3 miles of summer hiking and biking trails. The project will also include improvements to existing trails (removing rocks, grading, landscaping), and decommissioning others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this will bring the trail system up to date,\u201d said Dillon ranger Bill Jackson. \u201cIt provides more opportunity for visitors to get out and play. That\u2019s what we\u2019re all about, getting out there and exploring the forest, exercising and breathing the fresh air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swenson said that the town is ready to begin trail work on town-owned property as soon as the snow melts, potentially as early as next week. Meanwhile, the town still needs the Forest Service to sign off on the trail expansion proposal \u2014 a process outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act \u2014 before work can begin on those lands. The NEPA process includes getting the proposal analyzed and vetted by resource specialists looking for potential negative impacts to things like water quality, soil stability, wildlife habitats, cultural resources and more.<\/p>\n

Jackson said that similar analysis would have also occurred at the PRA in the last decade due to timber sales, so the process should move quickly. Citizens still have a chance to send in their comments on the plan to the Dillon Ranger District before it\u2019s finalized, though, which could be as early as June 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re certainly hopeful what\u2019s proposed is 100% approved,\u201d said Jackson. \u201cThere\u2019s still room to be flexible on our decision. \u2026 But if the comments are only supportive we can move quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swenson said that the trail system is in major need of upgrades. On the winter trails, most are either built on top of paved roads used in the summer, or old dirt and logging roads never properly graded for skiing. On the summer trails, many are converted social and deer trails. Swenson also lamented the layout of the trail system, noting a lack of loops and switchbacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love them, but if you were starting new and building a trail network, the existing trails wouldn\u2019t be part of the plan,\u201d said Swenson. \u201cWith the growth of the county, there are more people who want a better hiking, biking and skiing experience. The PRA is an ideal location, it makes sense to make these world-class trails for both summer and winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frisco will be working on both winter and summer trails at the same time. Assuming the Forest Service signs off on the proposal, Swenson said among others, the town would begin with building connections from the Perimeter Trail to others, along with a trail running parallel to Peninsula Road. In regards to Nordic trails, they\u2019ll start with east-west connectors, adding loops to existing trails.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to build completed segments and loops,\u201d said Swenson. \u201cWe would like to build them in chunks so that every couple months you can find a new loop. As a skier you\u2019re going to have more loops and connections to the existing network. Every year it will ski a lot bigger \u2026 and this is going to be quite the hot spot for summer trail use in a couple years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swenson and his two-man team will take on the construction themselves, building the trails by hand with the help of a mini-excavator. However, Swenson said there would be a number of volunteer trail days this summer for anyone looking to help out.<\/p>\n

Those interested in checking out the master development plan, including maps of proposed trail enhancements and expansions, can find it on the town\u2019s website. Additionally, citizens wanting to comment on the proposal should submit written comments to forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams at the Dillon Range District at PO Box 620 in Silverthorne before May 15. Comments can also be submitted electronically at Bit.ly\/2UYYsXt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mountain bikers take to the trails at the Frisco Peninsula Area. Hugh Carey \/ hcarey@summitdaily.com There\u2019s a lot to look forward to for hikers, bikers and Nordic skiers in Frisco, as the town will soon begin work on a five-year plan to improve and expand the trail network at the Frisco Nordic Center. \u201cThe town […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-795441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 05:23:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795441\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}