'Tis the season to give!
Between Giving Tuesday (November 30th) and New Years Day, POP is aiming to raise $30,000, which, if reached, will be matched by an already committed $10,000 donation, to fully fund the buildout of Velo Tout Terrain, Bonner County's first mountain bike trail center!
What are you supporting?
POP has already built over three miles of beginner-friendly trails in VTT with the financial support of local donors, including members of the Sandpoint Rotary Club.
With the $40,000 we are aiming to raise, we will build an additional 2+ miles of advanced and intermediate trails, ultimately making VTT one of the most unique trail centers in the Inland Northwest, joining the likes of Beacon Hill (Spokane), Silver Mountain (Kellog) and Spencer Mountain (Whitefish), offering riders of all ages and abilities a progressive riding destination just minutes from Sandpoint, Idaho.
Who are Pend Oreille Pedalers?
POP is a community, member-supported organization that exists to expand and promote opportunities for outdoor recreation on natural surface trails around Sandpoint. The core values on which our organization's mission is built are health, quality of life, social and economic development, community connections, and conservation. We believe in "building community through trails."
In addition to our 300-strong membership base and 28 local business sponsors, our community partners include the private an public land owners on whose land our trails exist, including the City of Sandpoint, Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Kaniksu Land Trust, Mark and Susie Kubiak (Sherwood Forest), and Julie and Steve Meyer. Maintaining strong relationships and open communication with these parties and others is an essential function POP must fulfill in order to accomplish our mission in the community.
What is VTT?
POP has partnered with Julie and Steve Meyer to oversee the development of public recreational trails on their recently acquired 100 acre property adjacent to Pine Street Woods, known as VTT (short for velo tout terrain, which is French for mountain bike).
VTT, encompassing 100 acres of forested hillside, ridgelines, and ravines to the south of Pine Street Woods, is a blank canvas on which miles of new trails will someday be built. POP's plan is to build approximately 4 miles of new non-motorized trail on VTT, tying the property into the existing 9 miles of singletrack trails in the broader Syringa trail network (PSW and Sherwood Forest).
Roughly 80 of VTT's 100 acres are being placed in a permanent conservation easement with Kaniksu Land Trust, meaning any trails we build on the property will be open to the public in perpetuity. The Meyers are retaining the remaining 20 acres for possible future development into a trailside campground, a "conservation development," or some other innovative recreational or residential use. There are currently no firm plans for development on the property.
What makes this a worthwhile project?
Your organization's support for the development of the first VTT trail has the potential to expand opportunities for outdoor recreation to the Sandpoint and Dover communities in a timeframe that otherwise would not be possible, providing a truly unique recreational asset to our communities that will be here for generations to come. The proposed trail will provide the easiest, most enjoyable access to the Syringa network yet available without driving into the heart of Pine Street Woods. For people who continue to access the Syringa network from existing trailheads, the new trail will open up the 100 acre VTT property and add many new loop options to ride, run, or hike beyond what currently exist.
In closing, we at POP believe that an investment in trails is an investment in future generations. Trails are forever, and long after the current pandemic and political turmoil embroiling our country have passed this trail will be left as a gift to our children and grandchildren. Trails are also a "non-partisan" investment; people of all political persuasions and perspectives enjoy using trails for all kinds of recreation. Dog walkers, hikers, trail runners, and mountain bikers love nothing more than to explore beautiful forests with views over the valley below, letting their minds wander from the chaos of the world. For these reasons, we hope that you will decide to support the development of Sandpoint and Dover's newest outdoor recreation area!
Why support trails?
A short film by the North Idaho Trails Coalition (POP, KLT, SNC)