Start from McCall City Hall, River Ranch or the Activity Barn. (See map)

We installed 15 new sign-posts over a 4-mile area and brushed out several miles of the trail, particularly the new sections of the North Valley Rail-Trail through DeBoer property by the Activity Barn and another section to the south, formerly owned by the Whiteman family.

My arms were so tired after the work day that I could barely lift my right arm to drink beer Saturday night! :0

I went out and rode the full length of the trail Sunday morning, and it just felt super cool to see all of the new signs along the trail and experience the trail like never before. By god, it looks like a trail and it rides like a trail.

It is truly a beautiful ride. Much of the trail is bordered by pine trees, so that provides an intimate experience with nature as the old railroad right of way swings through the pastoral countryside south of McCall. You’ll see hawks, eagles and ospreys flying overhead and songbirds in the trees. I heard sandhill cranes off in the distance.

Valley County Pathways encourages hikers, bikers and runners to check out the new trail. The distance and the terrain are great for just about anyone — particularly families and kids. The trail is mostly flat, with a couple of short hills when you bypass an old irrigation canal.

Enjoy!

- Steve Stuebner, Vice President, VC Pathways

Please join us to help get the Valley County Pathways trail cleaned up and ready for the upcoming season.

When:
Saturday May 8th at 9:00 AM

Where:
Meet at the green construction trailer at River Ranch.  River Ranch is located on the West side of Mission Street, South of the Smoke Jumper base.  The green construction trailer is just South of the main River Ranch Clubhouse.

Please RSVP if Possible

Email Steve Stuebner at sstuebner@cableone.net

Click to Enlarge Access Map

It was a special day for Valley County Pathways (VCP) today. Everyone loves hiking and biking trails, right? We certainly do.

Well, we just signed a new access agreement with Judd and Diane DeBoer and McCall River Ranch Co.  that will extend a public walking and biking path 1.8 miles from the end of the existing River Ranch pathway and continue south past the Activity Barn, a winter venue for tubing and cross-country skiing, to the existing VCP trail.

Linked with the city of McCall’s existing bike path that currently ends by the McCall Airport, the newly created North Valley Rail-Trail will provide a 5-mile continuous public trail corridor from McCall City Hall to Heinrich Lane, one mile short of Lake Fork.

Now, the most important aspect of this news: Valley County Pathways is organizing a volunteer trail day on Saturday, May 8, to clean up, brush out and sign the North Valley Rail-Trail for the 2010 summer season. We’re going to meet at 9 a.m. at the construction entrance to River Ranch, 1/4-mile south of the main entrance.

If you’d like to help out with the trail work day on Saturday, May 8, please contact Andy Olavarria at 208-315-4991 or aolava@citlink.net. We’re going to meet at 9 a.m. at the construction entrance of River Ranch, a 1/4-mile mile south of the main entrance.

So we had a little press conference today at the River Ranch clubhouse to let the DeBoer family know that we really appreciate their generosity. Judd and Diane were there along with their daughter Tamara and son-in-law Brian O’Morrow.

“We’re thrilled to be getting official public access to these pathway segments from River Ranch and the DeBoers,” said Steve Stuebner of Valley County Pathways. “This trail is going to become a favorite place to walk, bike or cross-country ski. It’s a pretty flat trail so it’s easy to use for just about anyone, particularly kids and families.”

The North Valley Rail-Trail will be managed as a non-motorized trail, as stipulated by the access agreement with River Ranch and the DeBoers as well as Idaho Power and other parties with which Valley County Pathways has access agreements along the old railroad right of way.  That means it will be open to walking, running, biking and cross-country skiing. Horseback riding will be allowed to the south of River Ranch.

“We’re excited to extend our pathway in River Ranch along the old railroad right of way and on our ranch to connect to the North Valley Rail-Trail managed by Valley County Pathways,” DeBoer said. “Diane and I and our kids have been involved in the recreation business for our whole lives, so we’re happy to be a part of expanding public pathways in the McCall area.”

The DeBoers have been involved in Brundage Mountain since the beginning and have directed its expansions for the past 25 years. The family also owns the McCall Activity Barn and developed River Ranch in partnership with the Dennis Hart family.

The trail segments on DeBoer and River Ranch property will link to existing trail segments to the south that Valley County Pathways manages through access agreements with Lake Irrigation District and Idaho Power Co. Last year, Marvin and Carol Whiteman donated a key piece of property just southwest of the Activity Barn near Nisula and Moonridge.

“Slowly but surely, we’re putting the pieces together to fulfill our mission of creating a public trail along the railroad road of way,” Stuebner said.

Let’s work together to improve the valley’s future
April 25th, 2009

By Steve Stuebner

Valley County Pathways, a group working to create a series of public pathways between McCall and Cascade, is gaining momentum.

We recently received a property donation south of McCall along the old railroad right of way from the Whiteman family, which adds value to an existing access agreement with Idaho Power, and we’ve developed a new trailhead on the north end of the Crown Point Rail-Trail near Cascade.

It’s unfortunate that Tamarack Resort has gone into bankruptcy and has shut down until a new buyer can be found. But in my opinion, it’d be great if Valley County citizens can work on shoring up and building on the resources we have to improve our community. The recent cash gift for the Cascade Whitewater Park, and the work by energetic volunteers and the city of Cascade to make this project a reality, is a classic example.

Most of us have no control over what happens to Tamarack. But we can put our energy into projects that will add value to the community in the long-term.

Valley County Pathways is working to create a 25-mile rail-trail from Cascade to McCall, and someday we hope to develop other pathways in our master plan, including a trail around Payette Lake and Lake Cascade. Once realized, these projects will add to the vitality of the recreation scene, and lead to further economic development.

If this is something of interest to you, consider getting involved. Right now, we need some worker-bee volunteers in the following areas:

* Membership
* Our web site
* Monitoring planning and zoning meetings
* Fundraising and grant-writing

Pathways has a nine-member board of directors. Three of our longtime board members have moved on – one died of cancer, one has retired and another one is working on other interests.

In the coming year, we will work on trail-development on the railroad right of way south of McCall, building a new trail in Donnelly, holding a fund-raiser, and developing a pathways master plan for the city of Cascade.

If you have an interest in getting involved, please contact me, Steve Stuebner, Pathways President, sstuebner@cableone.net, or 208-484-0295. For more information, go to www.valleycountypathways.org.

• Membership
• Monitoring planning and zoning meetings
• Fundraising and grant-writing

Please read this post for more information on our immediate needs.

Cascade Mayor Dick Carter linked Pathways efforts with a future whitewater
park and pathway system from the North Bridge to the South Bridge in the city
of Cascade. “Now all we’ve got to do is be creative and find a way to link
up the river trail with this trail,” he said. “I can envision something pretty
spectacular, like a bridge over the highway that people would come from
miles away to see and experience.”

Pathways Chairman Steve Stuebner
explains the long-range vision of the
county-approved pathways master plan.

Valley County Commissioner Frank Eld
thanked the Putman Family and the Pathways Group
for working together for the common good.

A great crowd, including the Putman Family, walkers and bikers, elected officials and Pathways Board
Members took part in the Trail Dedication Ceremony.

Marvin and Carol Whiteman have donated a 1.7-acre strategic parcel of railroad right of way property south of McCall to Valley County Pathways, Inc., allowing the Pathways group to provide new public access to several miles of trail between McCall and Heinrich Lane.

Your browser may not support display of this image.Valley County Pathways also recently signed an access agreement with Lake Irrigation District, south of the Whiteman property. The two land transactions, combined with an existing long-term access agreement with Idaho Power Co., provide a continuous pathway corridor along the old Union Pacific Railroad Right of Way between Moonridge Drive and Heinrich Lane, a distance of about four miles.

The pathway corridor is being managed as a non-motorized, four-season trail open to cross-country skiing and snow shoeing in the winter, and hiking, biking, running and horseback riding in the summer.

“We really want to thank Marv and Carol Whiteman for their generous property donation. This was private land that could have been sold as a home site, so it’s great to have it in public ownership to preserve the pathway corridor along the old railroad right of way,” said Steve Stuebner, president of Valley County Pathways.

“We also want to thank Lake Irrigation District for working with us on an access agreement,” Stuebner said. “This allows Pathways to manage the district’s land along the RR ROW as a recreation trail. We are expecting to work on a new trail bypass project next summer.”

Your browser may not support display of this image.

Marvin Whiteman, now retired, ran a successful business in Boise for many years, plus he was a partner in the development of several McCall residential developments – Payette River Subdivision #1, #2 and #3, Aspen Ridge #1, #2 and #3, and Moonridge #1 and #2.

“Steve explained the vision of Valley County Pathways to me, and Carol and I felt that it would be appropriate to donate our property along the trail to the Pathways group so they can continue to work toward their goal of building a trail from McCall to Cascade,” Marvin Whiteman said.

Here are some photos of the news section of trail as well as a map showing how to access the rail-trail south of McCall:

[View with PicLens]

They are beautiful and fun to walk, bike or ride on horseback. The trail is closed to all motorized vehicles, winter and summer, as per agreements with private property owners.

Otherwise, enjoy riding the rail-trail. If you’re on a bike, consider lengthening your trip by riding a loop: Take the RR ROW from McCall to Heinrich Lane, then turn left on Heinrich and go right on Norwood to Lake Fork Road. Go left and follow Lake Fork Road over to Idaho 55. Cross the highway and ride back to McCall via Farm to Market Road and Samson Trail or Elo Road.