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WALLACE -- The Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes that
currently spans from Mullan to Plummer will be expanded
by nine miles thanks to a grant by the Idaho Park and
Recreation Board and Federal Highway Administration.
The grant, which will be used to fund work from
Shoshone Park, near Pottsville in Mullan, to the top
of Lookout Pass should be getting under way by this
weekend, according to Jon Ruggles, president of the
Friends of the Coeur d'Alene Trails.
However, logging in the area that the trail is
proposed to run through may slow the process.
"They are currently logging in the area that we
are going to go through," said Ruggles.
"As soon as we get the go-ahead, we'll begin
work."
Crews [will then] be able to start immediately
as funds are currently available.
They will be using the old [Northern] Pacific
Railroad lines to build the trails, which will be
made up of compact dirt and gravel. Kiosks, signage
and restrooms will also be placed along the stretch.
It will be a multiple-use trail, available to ATV's,
snowmobiles and mountain bikers, and maintained by
three organizations representing each user group
during the course of the year. Shoshone County crews
will grade the trail to keep things groomed throughout
the year.
"Each of the local organizations, like NITRO
[National Independent Trail Riders Organization] and
the Friends, will have a part in this project,"
said Ruggles. "We'll be working together to get
this done."
Their first priority [in the project] will be to
put in the restrooms along the trail, then to install
various signs about local history at each stopping point.
"We're going to put in a picnic table and lookout
around Snowstorm Peak," added Ruggles.
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