Public trail access can look simple on a map. On the ground, it often takes years of partnerships, agreements, and problem-solving to make it last.
That’s especially true for the Eddye McClure East Trail, a 2.2-mile neighborhood trail and important gateway to Helena’s South Hills for Jefferson County residents. Although hikers and bikers traveled through this area for decades, PPLT built the official trail in 2011. Today, it remains entirely on private land, with public access protected through three easements held by PPLT.
The east trailhead became more complicated in 2020 when the property changed hands and an area people had long used for parking was closed. PPLT secured permanent access to the trail,
but there still wasn’t a good place for trail users to park.
For the past several years, PPLT has worked with Jefferson County, neighbors, and landowners toward a solution. This summer, that work paid off. Jefferson County worked with a new landowner to remove a fence from the public right-of-way, and PPLT built a new fence along the legal property boundary. The result is room for about eight vehicles near the intersection of South Hills Road and Martinez Gulch Road.
From the new parking area, trail users can travel about a quarter mile along the road to the trailhead. PPLT will continue working with Jefferson County on a connector trail to move hikers and bikers off the road.
The trail is named for Eddye McClure, an avid hiker and longtime Montana public servant who passed in 2008. Her obituary offered a fitting suggestion for remembering her: take a hike with your favorite two-legged or four-legged friend.
Thanks to years of cooperation and persistence, people can continue doing just that on the trail that bears her name.
Cassie Solberg is the communications coordinator at Prickly Pear Land Trust.
