New trail now open at Palisade State Park
By Robert Green
Staff writer
6-18-2020
Much to the delight of walkers, joggers and bikers, a new multi-purpose trail in Palisade State Park is finished and open to the public.
The improved .82 trail along the southwest side of the lake is especially enjoyable at sunset, said Andy Adamson of the Manti Trail Builders. The trail runs adjacent to the lake and makes a loop around the old dance hall.
Adamson has pitched in a lot of time and combined his resources with Sanpete County and the state park to improve the trail.
The terrain features rolling hills and modest grades, making it ideal for beginning mountain bikers, Adamson said. It is also perfect for an evening stroll or trail run. The three-foot wide trail was improved by adding road base and gravel, Adamson said.
“If you couple the new trail with the existing trails,” Adamson said, “the entire complex makes a nice 3-mile loop.”
Funding for the $20,000 trail was secured by Kevin Christensen, Sanpete County economic development director, from the Sanpete Travel Council and the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area.
Christensen said the group of trail builders, mostly high school students, did an excellent job of clearing the way. “They worked really hard and put in a lot of effort,” he said. “It was tough; they moved rocks and stuff like that.”
The improved trail makes for a great walk around the lake, Christensen said. There’s a lot of scenic views, with many looking down off into the valley.
For now, access to the trail is free; but that may soon change as Palisade Park is in the process of establishing a day use fee station near the dam, said park manager Shon Tripp. Day use at the park is $10. This fee area would include the trail. The park has leased some area below the dam from Manti Irrigation and installed restrooms in the area, Tripp explained. There are plans to build some more primitive campsites, he said, because there are not enough campsites available for everybody.
Now the Palisades trail is finished, Adamson plans to improve other trails in Sanpete County this summer. He has submitted a bid to help the Forest Service restore about 10.5 miles of trail in Ephraim County.
Adamson wanted to thank Christensen for the $20,000 grant, but he said the money would have fallen short if not for a bunch of volunteers who pitched in.
There were many volunteer-hours given to making the trail modifications, Adamson said. He especially wanted to give credit to True North Excavating for donating road-base materials and Lynn Bishop for helping out with his equipment.
Volunteers from the Manti Trail Builders (MTB) and the community showed up in force on a couple of Saturdays and helped grade the trail, Adamson said.
The MTB was created when Adamson and his wife Natalie noticed there were not many local mountain bike trails. They volunteer as coaches of the Manti Bike Team, which has around 70 members on its roster, from the 7th – 12th grade.
Adamson now spends a lot of time supervising and inspecting trails. For information, visit mantimtb.com.
