BOZEMAN — Gallatin Valley Land Trust is hosting their sixth annual Summer Trails Challenge, which is an opportunity for community members to help raise money for the dozens of trails in and around Gallatin County.
To get involved, all you have to do is get out, get active, and log your miles on their website because each mile logged is $1 donated directly back to the community’s trail system.
“The whole goal is to get the community out on the trails or on the sidewalks," GVLT executive director Chet Work explained. "If you walk with your family of four and you go for a mile that counts as four miles, and that’s $4 for GVLT.”
Because Gallatin County is an active community, GVLT wanted this year’s goal to reach new heights, upping the antics to 77,500 miles logged over a three-week span.
For comparison, the goal in 2016 was only 20,000 miles.
“We spend about $300,000 dollars or more on trails a year, so this is a big chunk of that funding comes from this community effort," Work said.
That budget goes towards maintaining, improving, and growing GVLT’s current trails system.
“All the money has already been raised or pledged," Work added. "We just need to log the miles to get it done, and it’s all on scouts honor. We know our community will hike 77,500 miles. The question is will they log it?”
The process of logging your hiking, walking, biking, or running miles is quite easy.
All you have to do is visit their website and fill out your name, email, and how many miles you'd like to log.
“ If you have happened to run an Ultra Marathon, we’d love your 50 miles, but if you’re going out for an after-dinner walk, we’d love that mile, too," Work chuckled. "The whole goal is to really push these businesses to keep supporting GVLT and our trails, and the more money we can get, the better our trail system continues.”
If you’re looking for an incentive to log your miles, GVLT also has some prizes they’re giving out along the way ranging from beer growlers to a one-night stay at the Lark Hotel.
“GVLT has been around for 30 years, and the trails are a huge part of what we do and some of our most proud accomplishments in this community," Work said. "This is a great way for us to give back to the community is to keep building these and improve them for the whole community.”
GVLT's Summer Trails Challenge ends Friday, June 25.
