Marshall Mountain Park

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Following years of public input and planning, the Missoula County commissioners voted at their Dec. 14, 2023, public meeting to purchase and manage the three parcels comprising Marshall Mountain Park. Read the full report from County staff for more information on this project. Commissioners signed the close-out documents to complete the purchase of this park on March 26, 2024.

This vote also finalized the conceptual master plan and entered into an interlocal agreement with the City of Missoula. The interlocal agreement outlines the County’s role as owner and manager, the City’s role in providing recreation programming, and how both government agencies will provide funding to support the park. Click here to see the interlocal agreement. The Conceptual Master Plan and exhibits B through F are linked separately. Exhibits B and C are the respective city and county resolutions approving the use of open space bond funds. Exhibits D and E outline the acquisition budget and management funds. Exhibit F is the Marshall Mountain guiding principles, as adopted by the primary partners in 2021.

The Missoula County commissioners and the Missoula City Council voted to commit $2 million total from open space bond funds towards the acquisition of Marshall Mountain Park at a joint hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 4. On July 13, the County's Open Lands Citizen Advisory Committee and the City's Open Space Advisory Committee each voted in favor of recommending Open Space Bond funds for the acquisition of Marshall Mountain Park. On Oct. 4, the county commissioners and Missoula City Council considered this recommendation at a joint hearing and approved the one-time use of up to $1 million each (up to $2 million total) of open space bond funds for the purpose of acquiring the 480 acres as part of the Marshall Mountain Park project.

This acreage includes three sites:

1. The base area of the former Marshall Mountain Ski Area (160 acres owned by Izzy Dog LLC)
2. The mid-mountain area of the former ski area (160 acres owned by the Five Valleys Land Trust)
3. The northern parcel (160 acres owned by The Conservation Fund).

This opportunity is possible thanks to the generosity of the three private landowners listed above, as well as previous efforts by other landowners. The mid-mountain area was donated to Five Valleys Land Trust by The Nature Conservancy in 2015.

The total project cost to acquire Marshall Mountain and open it to public access is approximately $3.8 million. This includes roughly $3.2 million in land value (with a purchase price of approximately $2.4 million including transaction costs), and $600,000 for site access improvements. Two landowners have generously agreed to sell their parcels at below-market value. Additional funding from state, federal and private grants will be used towards the purchase price.

Read the details about this park, ask questions, follow this project to hear about future engagement opportunities, including public hearings and events. Be sure to visit the City of Missoula's Engage Missoula page to see what's been done so far, such as the design concept, current trail map, survey data and more.