• Trail Updates

Friends of Pathways has a formal partnership with the USFS to collaborate on design, construction and stewardship of local trails for all users – hike, bike, horse, and ski. We’re committed to providing easy year round access to trails in order to maintain our high quality of life in Jackson Hole.

This week crews finished up 2 bridges on the History Trail, cleared History, Wilson, West Game, Blacks, worked with volunteers to move lumber to bridge sites, and got trained with Wildflower Watch and Nature Mapping JH.  We had 2 awesome volunteer groups from the Teton Science School and from the Teton Trail Runners who helped us move over 3000 pounds of lumber a mile up the trail to our next bridge sites.  We certainly couldn’t do all the projects on the forest each summer without help from amazing volunteers like them!  The crews also became trained for our Citizen Science project with Wildflower Watch, Nature Mapping JH and the BTNF.  This summer they will help record plant, animal, and recreation data in Cache Creek as part of an ongoing study there.  They also cleared a few dozen trees off of the upper reaches of trail on Pass Ridge.  The next spot to hit will be the Skyline Trail on Monday!  We are excited to get up there after it opens up on Sunday and we hope you go up for an adventure as well!

The front country trails are in prime summer shape right now!  Teton Pass has only a few lingering snow drifts which are quickly melting and the rain this week has kept the dust down and the trails in great shape.  The Youth Trail Crew started this week and had a fun first day clearing drains on Putt Putt in a torrential hail storm but on the plus side it was easy to see the drainage dips and water bars working.  They spent the rest of the week working on bridges on the History Trail.  We are up to 4 bridges built with a few approaches left to fill in with gravel.  Next week we have 2 volunteer groups from TSS and the Teton Trail Runners to help us move lumber into the woods for the next bridges.  We also looked at a reroute on the Big Munger Trail with the USFS and DIRT.  They have a grant to bring severely eroded sections of that trail up to standards and when it is done it should make for a much more enjoyable experience for all trail users.  I would recommend that as the trail of the week as the views are stunning and the wildflowers are in full bloom right now!

A few cool days slowed the snow melt on Teton Pass but the trails continue to dry out.  I saw a few brave souls who had pushed out through the ~3 feet of snow on Pass Ridge and descended Black Canyon and Lithium.  Ski Lake is quite doable to the lake with snow remaining above.  Arrow to Phillip’s Canyon is cleared and passable with a few lingering drifts.  The Ridge is also passable by linking Arrow to Snotel and sections of the BPA road before descending the Ridge trail to Fish Creek road.  There are still a few trees down there that the Youth Trail Crew will help clear on their first day this Monday.  Look for these high school students working on the trails over the next 9 weeks, particularly on Teton Pass where they will be building bridges and installing new signs.  The crew also finished the first bridge on the History trail this week and we have some volunteers lined up to help us add gravel to the approaches and carry lumber to the next bridge sites.  Hopefully we dodge the rain this weekend and everyone is able to get out for an adventure.  Remember to wait til the roads dry out after a rain before going on the trails, that is usually a good indicator of when they have dried out enough to not be damaged and muddy.

Thanks to everybody who came out to help on National Trails Day last Saturday!  We got a big head start on the bridge project on Teton Pass, moved ~8,000 pounds of lumber, rerouted a wet section of the History trail, cleaned all the water bars on Big Rocks, and finished the first bridge on Big Rocks in under 3 hours.  Crews were out clearing trees and fixing drainage problems on Snow King and Teton Pass this week.  The Arrow trail has maybe 500 feet of snow left, mostly in shaded drifts in the trees but is passable and Phillips Canyon is clear as well.  You can also link Arrow to the BPA road to bypass the Snotel and paraglider launch area to link up with the Ridge trail which is clear below 2 towers and the switchbacks.  Crews will clear the last few trees off of Snotel and Ridge next week.  Upper History is good to go as well and now is a great time to hike before the nettle grows 6 feet tall.  One more heads up for the bottom of the Shade Monkey trail at Snow King.  The condo construction and magic carpet location have led to the bottom 2 corners being graded over.  This will be fixed sometime in June after the construction fence is moved back to the property line and the magic carpet is moved to the west.  Enjoy the weekend!


Snow King and Munger trails are good to go and Teton Pass is slowly but surely melting out. The TFR trails on the south side of the pass are in pretty good shape and should be riding nicely for their Pass Bash on Saturday. Everything else is probably still and out and back exploration from the bottom until you hit the snow line. The one exception may be the Ridge trail which you can link from the Phillip’s trailhead to Fish Creek road by using portions of the BPA powerline road that tends to melt out quicker than the shaded trail around the Snotel section. On Saturday you should start your day with bagels and coffee and at the base of Old Pass Road and then stay and help us build some new bridges with the USFS for National Trails Day. We will finish up with lunch and beverages and then you can continue on to the Pass Bash and make a full day of supporting and enjoying the trails!