Trails are one of the cornerstones of our community. For almost three decades, one organization has been at the forefront of the effort to build and maintain the trail networks weaving throughout the Ogden area: Trails Foundation of Northern Utah.
TFNU was founded as Weber County Pathways in 1995 by three individuals with the simple vision to connect Ogden City and the Ogden Valley with a recreation path up Ogden Canyon. The endeavor was a crash course in the difficulties of navigating government agencies and negotiating with private landowners. Stymied in its initial mission, the organization pivoted and became a non-profit organization advocating for trail systems throughout the region. In 2020, the name was changed to better reflect that the organization is not a government entity, nor is it limited to just Weber County.
In the 18 years since its founding, Trails Foundation has been responsible for building and maintaining various natural and paved trails throughout the Ogden region. The two most prominent legacy projects are the Weber River Parkway and the Pineview Loop Pathway, however, TFNU is also responsible for, or has a hand in, most of the trails used for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and trail running in the area.
“I think the great thing about Trails Foundation is we work with everybody,” says Aric Manning, TFNU’s executive director. “We try to bridge the gap between what people want to do and [the various agencies]. And as a non-profit, we can write grants, so it’s not always a taxed item.” For a few examples, TFNU works with Ogden City to maintain the Bonneville Shoreline, with North Ogden on the Coldwater Canyon trail, with the U.S. Forest Service to help with Skyline and the Art Nord trails, and with private landowners for projects like the Sidewinder Trail in Eden.
The crown jewel, however, maybe the work the foundation has done with Weber County in North Fork Park in Liberty. In the past decade, North Fork has evolved from a local campground with a few rudimentary trails into a hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian park that rivals world-reknowned destinations such as Hartman’s Rocks in Gunninson, Colorado, and the 18 Road trails outside of Fruita, Colorado.
“Weber County Parks and Rec are such great partners,” Manning says. “We have great agreements with them. They know they can count on us to help with maintenance, and we appreciate them letting us build new trail.”
Education is another big focus of TFNU. This means helping new trail users, many inspired to get back outside by the CoVid pandemic, understand the etiquette that helps us all get along. But it can also mean helping landowners understand the value of allowing a trail to connect through their property.
“There are a lot of misconceptions around trails,” says Manning. “There are people that think that if you put a trail by their house, crime is going to increase.”
According to the National Association of Realtors, the opposite is true. According to their website (LINK https://www.nar.realtor/trails-and-greenways), “Recent studies have confirmed living near trails and greenways will likely raise your property value an average of 3-5 percent and sometimes even as high as 15 percent. There is also no correlation that trails increase crime in their surrounding areas.”
For new trail builds and maintenance projects, TFNU can use grant money. By and large, however, that money can’t be used for day-to-day operations. To pay staff, rent, and other operational costs, the foundation depends on memberships. Membership fees start as low at $60 a year (less than half the price of a lift ticket at most ski resorts) and come with the peace of mind that you are helping keep our vast trail networks open, in good shape, and free. Of the thousands of people who use the area’s trails, about 350 are TFNU members. The goal is to reach 500 by the end of winter.
“We're really trying to let people understand that your membership dollars go back into the trails,” says Manning. “That might not be a specific piece of trail, it may not be for a shovel, but there's so much planning behind the scenes, and having a seat at the table, when the forest service—or the city or the county—has ideas, we can give a voice.”
To help support TFNU, become a member or make a one-time donation at TFNU.com.
