On Thursday (Feb. 27) Municipal Court will be closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Published on August 24, 2023
HELENA, Mont. – Development of a new universal access trail will start south of Helena next week, Aug. 28 - Sept. 1. The project will center around the Old Shooting Range Trailhead, creating the new Upper DeFord Universal Access Trail. Work on the trail is expected to continue throughout the fall. Trail users will still be able to use the Old Shooting Range Trailhead to access the Upper DeFord Trail.
The new Universal Access Trail was designed through a long public engagement process in 2021 and 2022. It will start at the Old Shooting Range Trailhead, with options to travel North and South. To the North, the trail will be available to all users, allowing connection to where the Lower DeFord Trail intersects with Davis Gulch Road. Traveling south, the current Upper DeFord Trail will be modified to improve accessibility with a wider path. Once complete, this section of trail will be closed to bike traffic. Bikes will instead use the bike course trails to navigate around the universal access section.
Trail development kicks off phase II of this project, which began earlier this summer. Phase I included accessibility improvements to the trailhead. During the week of July 17-21, a new concrete pad was poured to make way for new disability permit parking spots.
The new accessible parking space was made possible thanks to the 2022 Ales for Trails fundraiser, which provided a $12,500 donation. Grant funding covered the remaining cost of the project, which was approved by the City Commission.
Click Here to View Project Map(PDF, 741KB)