Could this Boise-area city become a hub for outdoor sports? Maybe. Here’s a reason why
Could there be a new destination for outdoor sports in Southwest Idaho?
Eagle is slowly making the case for itself as community members and city officials build out the city’s offerings, including the addition of 100 miles of equestrian trails and the 98-acre Eagle Regional Sports Complex. The complex would offer a trailhead connecting to 2,200 acres of land owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
And now, a new project is emerging: a plan to build the first adaptive mountain-biking system in the Treasure Valley.
The Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association is raising money to build a 10-mile trail to the standards of the adaptive community for people with limited mobility, according to John Palumbo, executive director.
Adaptive mountain bikes are three- and four-wheeled cycles for people who may not be able to use a standard mountain bike because of physical, intellectual, neurological and sensory abilities, according to the Canada-based Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association.
Since adaptive mountain bikes are wider than standard mountain bikes, adaptive trails need to have different dimensions and standards, such as a wider trail.
Over 11% of Idahoans have some sort of mobility problem, Palumbo said during an Eagle City Council meeting Tuesday, March 12.
“We thought we needed to address this,” Palumbo said. “We wanted to give them some sort of place.”
The longest trail adaptive riders can use in the Boise area is a 3.8-mile run called Hard Guy Trail near Bogus Basin Road, Palumbo said. One of the biggest complaints he’d heard from the adaptive community is that they had nothing challenging enough to improve their skills.
Not only would the new trail be more than twice as long as the Hard Guy Trail, but it would get more difficult as riders go up, he said.
“It’s going to be the first adaptive trail purposefully built in the Treasure Valley,” Palumbo said. “We’ll be doing five miles in the first phase, five miles hopefully in an additional phase by connecting some other roads to complete this.”
The completed project would include a parking lot with more than 90 spaces, restrooms, storage for adaptive equipment and a park named after Kevin Pavlis, a cyclist and adaptive-athlete coach who died in 2009.
The association would build the project to the needs of the adaptive community and could host events and competitions, Palumbo said. His vision is to someday host a Special Olympics event there.
“I think this is a fantastic project,” said Mary May, an Eagle City Council member. “I think it’s long overdue and something that will really be embraced by the entire community … It’s exciting to see.”
Avimor gets in on the action
The park and trail system would be located on the northern edge of Avimor — the planned community that Eagle annexed into its city boundaries in 2023.
The parking lot for the trail system was originally slated to be developed with 14 to 16 town houses, Palumbo said. But when Avimor saw the scope of the trail project, Avimor decided to allow the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association to use the land for the parking lot.
Palumbo said Avimor has already come up with $2.5 million of in-kind donations for the project between the land and property.
“They definitely have skin in the game and have been a huge backer in this project,” Palumbo said.
The project has already raised close to $300,000, including from St. Luke’s Health System and the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, and has an additional $100,000 promised, Palumbo said.
The association has enough to build the first five-mile segment but is still seeking funding to complete the bathrooms, storage facilities and future adaptive trail connections. Palumbo expects the total cost for the project to be about $3.5 million.
Palumbo told the Statesman that the association is still seeking donations for additional phases to build out Pavlis Park, the parking lot, restrooms and storage areas.
The earliest workers could start construction is June, Palumbo said, and it will take about three months to get the first five miles built.
More information can be found at the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association’s page for Project Inclusive.
This story was originally published March 19, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
