9B Trails don’t build themselves

BONNERS FERRY — Every Monday, 9B Trails volunteers head out to update and maintain Boundary County trails.

Formed in 2018, 9B Trails is a nonprofit entity consisting of outdoor enthusiasts from all walks of life, interests and backgrounds. Their mission is to provide accessible, non-motorized public trails in Boundary County through advocacy, planning, developing and fundraising together, with community involvement and partnerships.

Currently every Monday, depending on weather, they host trail building days where 9B Trails gets out to the area’s trails with volunteers.

Olivia Drake, board director, said that one goal of 9B Trails is to provide trails close to town in order to provide hiking spots that locals can utilize after work without having to drive to Montana or having to plan a big excursion.

“In the long-term, 9B Trails hopes to connect the community to walking and biking trails,” Drake said.

The two trails the group is currently focused on is District 16 and the Enchanted Forest in the Paradise Valley area. They are single track trail systems that are also bicycle friendly trails. 9B Trails is also working on more access and connectivity to the downtown at Riverside Park, located north of the Kootenai River by the softball fields.

For more information, visit https://9btrails.org/.

Trail build days are every Monday depending on weather conditions. Contact Scott Bourassa, trail crew chief, at scott2011scott@gmail.com to sign up or for more information. Follow 9B Trails on Facebook at “9B Trails — Boundary County Idaho” for more volunteer opportunities and updates on maintaining local trails.