Pathways and Trails Masterplan

Missoula County commissioners voted to adopt the final Pathways and Trails Master Plan at their Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, public meeting.

Missoula County Pathways and Trails Master Plan - Final

Planning regional bicycle and pedestrian connections!

The Pathways and Trails Masterplan will direct development and ongoing maintenance of paved pathways and trails to increase active transportation in Missoula County outside Missoula city limits.

Pathways and trails include shared-use paths (paved routes that are separated from roadways), major sidewalks outside of Missoula's urban core and similar active transportation facilities.

What is the plan? The Missoula County Pathways and Trails Masterplan is a long-range planning tool to determine gaps and identify opportunities for improvements. It is a visionary document that sets the values and goals for future investments, an opportunity for staff and the public to weigh in on the future of pathways and trails in the county, and a fresh look at regional bicycle and pedestrian connections outside the City of Missoula. This plan has a specific focus on the county's rural communities.

The resolution of intent for this plan was adopted on Thursday, Oct. 27. The final public hearing of the Pathways and Trails Masterplan will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, at the commissioners' meeting. Find the commissioners' public meeting link.

Please note: We heard from a number of residents in support of the Butler Creek Trail Project and urging a re-evaluation of its ranking within the plan; specifically related to traffic safety and as a fire evacuation route (resiliency). Staff reviewed the comments and concur that the ranking should be increased from a resiliency standpoint. The safety criteria is based on crash data and roadway speed. These factors did not warrant a change related to the safety evaluation, given this same criteria is applied across all trail projects within the plan.