EAST MISSOULA — Whether you bike it, hike it, or ski it, Missoula's Marshall Mountain is set to get upgraded.
A Land and Water Conservation Fund grant totaling more than $838,000 was awarded to Marshall Mountain for the next phase of the park.
"Access from the base has been key and has grown many people's appreciation for the space," Marshall Mountain Park Ranger Silas Phillips told MTN. "The hope is that it becomes a more developed park space," Phillips continued.
The money is set to make the base area better for all who visit and recreate.
"So, bathrooms would be nice. Also improving the electrical and the water infrastructure. Hopefully we can get some drinking water up here for folks, especially when it gets hot during the summer. And then shelter, we're gonna convert that old lift terminal into a pavilion," Phillips explained.
The federal grant, given by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, requires a 50% match.
Local funding came from the County Trails Bond, City-County Open Space Bond, $40,000 from the Missoula Mountain Bike Coalition, and Friends of Marshall Mountain contributed more than half.
"All of these grants demand that the local community steps up and says we believe in this by committing private dollars. We started fundraising in mid-2023 and essentially raised the bulk of this money through last year," Friends of Marshall Mountain Co-Chair Jeff Crouch said.
Total, Marshall is receiving more than $1.6 million. Staff and supporters say it's proof people believe in the park.
"It's an incredible sort of bid of faith. I really feel like this grant is sort of the next step post-acquisition," Phillips said.
"We started out just wanting to save the park and personally, I would have been happy if it was just saved. But now watching the number of people using it, the mountain was full of people, and that's what it's for," Crouch offered.
Improvements will take place throughout the next two years.
