bsco
Our ProjectsBSCO Projects
We are constantly exploring new opportunities to help people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds enjoy the best of Big Sky, year-round. BSCO focuses on achievable, relevant projects that meet the uniquely dynamic needs of the people we serve, and the places we all love.
ALL OUT for Parks & Trails
BSCO is excited to launch ‘ALL OUT for Parks and Trails,’ a special 25th Anniversary fundraising campaign to support our community’s highly-prized parks and trails.
Park Projects
Explore park projects that are currently underway, and our completed park projects.
Trail Projects
Learn about completed trail projects, as well as in-progress trail work.
Serving a Growing Community, Staying True to our Values
As Big Sky grows, our community deserves more opportunities for personal and shared connection, recreation, and enjoyment. BSCO is committed to ensuring our community remains a special place to live, work, and play. Through expanded and enhanced parkland, trail systems that connect key corridors, and a centrally-located, year-round community center, we’re committed to making Big Sky a place for all.
Park Projects – Current & Completed
Current Park Projects
BSCO Maintenance Building and Housing
BSCO is currently underway constructing a new building in the Community Park that will allow for us to have a higher standard of care of our assets by protecting the equipment used to maintain the parks, trails and spaces that the Big Sky community and visitors love. This building will also serve as employee housing on the second floor with 2 3-bedroom apartments.
Community Park Re-Design
Community Park Re-Design Concept Plans
We are transforming our Community Park, adding a remarkable new adventure-based playground, an improved skate park and bicycle pump track. Honoring the request of many in our community, we’ll also be able to improve our soccer and baseball fields, rebuild our volleyball courts and enhance restroom facilities.
Playground
We are working with InContour and Northwest Playground Equipment to bring an BIGGER playground to the Community Park. This adventure based, ADA accessible playground will have features for all age groups.
Pump Track
In partnership with Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association, BSCO will be expanding the current pump track located at the Community Park to allow for better skill building. The improvements include not only expanding the pump track but, asphalting the surface to allow for better overall maintenance.
Southfork Area Park
Our wonderful community continues to grow and new neighborhoods create needs and opportunities for new public places where all across Big Sky can gather and play. Thanks to the generosity of Lone Mountain Land Company and the Southfork HOA, BSCO has the ability to create a six acre park in the Southfork area that will ensure easy access and bring wonderful new outdoor amenities for the benefit of all who live, play and serve in this special place.
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Completed Park Projects
RT & Ralph's Beehive Preserve
BSCO’s goal with this new land acquisition is to ensure continued access to Beehive Basin, provide long-term stewardship of the land and that the trailhead and surrounding area is developed to meet the level of use the trailhead sees on a daily basis with consistent maintenance and upkeep. The BSCO plans to turn the 7.5 acres into an open space parkland and partner with the USFS on the trailhead to make significant improvements for additional parking, improved informational kiosk, a pit toilet and a bear-proof trash receptacle.
Community Park Projects & Improvements
2019 – increased softball fence height to improve spectator safety.
2018 – purchased two new pickleball nets to help with the growing needs number of pickleball players in the community.Â
2018 – the park entrance sign was upgraded.
2017 – installed a 2nd Camp yurt thanks to the Yellowstone Club Community Foundation and Moonlight Community Foundation.
2016 – Thanks to the Spanish Peaks Community Foundation, we installed a fresh water line at the East end of the park for our Camp Big Sky youth to have access to a clean water spigot next to the year-round yurt.
2015 – we striped two more pickle ball courts onto the tennis courts.
Kircher Discovery Park Improvements
In 2018, BSCO began the replacement of bridges and boardwalks leading into the park to better accommodate families and strollers. Look for the final replacement of the wetland boardwalk in summer of 2019. Thanks to continued support of the Rotary Club of Big Sky. Â
The new Tree Fort will create an exciting gathering place for children of all ages to play and enjoy this wonderful stretch of river the park sits on was completed in the fall of 2017. Big Sky’s newest playground is a ship inspired structure that is sure to invigorate the imagination of anyone that visits. The BSCO and Rotary Club of Big Sky worked together last summer to make several improvements to Kircher Park with the goal of providing a more inviting atmosphere for park and trail visitors. Improvements included: building a loop trail, tree clearing, trail repairs, and a new park entrance sign was installed October of 2017.
Master Park Plan
The increased recreational use and rapid growth of our community prompted the BSCO, in partnership with the Big Sky Area Parks, Trails & Recreation District, to hire Peaks to Plains Consulting out of Billings, MT to lead a master park planning process for our community. With progressive and sustainable planning in place we can ensure abundant and diverse recreational amenities are available for all. Â The plan was completed in 2018 and can be viewed below. BSCO will continue to work on a variety of park projects as outlined in the master plan.
More below:
Ousel Falls Safety and Revegetation Project
Funded through the Big Sky Area Resort Tax District and individual donors, this project improved safety throughout the park and trail with the installation of new hand rails and safety barriers as well as the restoration of several bare/compacted areas that were been damaged by user traffic. The restoration component of the project included seeding, planting native trees and shrubs, and decommissioning several user created paths. Overall, the project brought the Ousel Falls Trail back to it’s native state while providing a safer experience for all visitors.
Len Hill Park
BSCO purchased 3.3 acres of green open space in the heart of Town Center in 2018 and has transformed this space into a multi-use park which is home to the Marty Pavelich Ice Rink and Music in the Mountains put on by the Arts Council of Big Sky.Â
Skate Park
Working with Dreamland Skateparks, we expanded the skatepark in the Community Park to make more beginner friendly features and more square footage.Â
Trail Projects – current & completed
Current Trail Projects
Tanner's Way
In 2022 BSCO worked with Southwest Montana Mountain Bike Association to acquire easements and build the first part of Tanner’s Way connecting Town Center to the North Fork. In 2023, we will work to finish the connection to Town Center by working with BSOA and their open space on HWY 64.Â
Trail Signage & Wayfinding
BSCO is working on updating the current trail signage on our trails and trailheads to aid in navigation and trail etiquette.Â
Pedestrian Trail & Tunnel
BSCO is in the engineering phase of a project that will create safe pedestrian access across Highway 64 to the Big Sky Community Park. The project includes a pedestrian underpass at the intersection of Lone Mountain Trail (HWY 64) and Little Coyote Road, a paved trail along Little Coyote Road, and a pedestrian bridge across the Middle Fork of the South Fork of the Gallatin River. The project is part of the organization’s pedestrian safety and connectivity goal in the Big Sky Trails Master Plan. Recently Big Sky received funding through a federal TIGER grant in coordination with the Big Sky Meadow Trails, Recreation, and Parks Special District where $10 million was awarded for Hwy. 64 road improvements. The tunnel and pathway were included in the grant request. Construction is anticipated for the summer of 2020.
Huff's Trek
in 2022, BSCO completed the first half of Huff’s Trek, an easy multi-use public trail that would connects Big Sky Resort to Big Sky Town Center. The second half of this project will be completed in 2023 which includes creating a gravel path leading from the bottom of Mountain to Meadow up to the 2022 constructed Huff’s Trek. This trail will also include a trailhead and parking area at the bottom.Â
Completed Trail Projects
Ralph's Pass
Ralph’s Pass is a natural surface multi-use trail approximately 2.7 miles in length which serves as an important connector between the Hummocks and Uplands Trails and Ousel Falls Trail. A connecting spur, Ralph’s Pass Extension, will also route bikers to the Yellow Mule Trailhead. A significant portion of the trail easements fall within dedicated subdivision open space and through areas of natural beauty ranging from steep and heavily forested mountains to open grassy meadows. The trail enable users to enjoy views of several Big Sky peaks including Lone Mountain and Pioneer Mountain. Completed in the fall 2016, the trail is open June 15 – October 16th.
Master Trails Plan
BSCO worked with nationally recognized Alta Planning + Design on a Master Trails Plan for Big Sky and connecting areas. This is a complete working document that will serve as the base for all future trail projects and outreach while providing guidance for the continued care and maintenance of existing trails. Visit the project web site for more information on this important scope of work to view the final document. Currently, BSCO is working with Madison and Gallatin counties to have the plan adopted into growth policies in each county.
Winter Trail Grooming
BSCO worked with Lone Mountain Ranch and other partners to begin grooming winter trails in the winter of 2019. BSCO is now grooming Little Willow Way, Crail Trails, South Fork Loop and 7km of the Town Center Trails during the winter though the acquisition of a snowmobile and grooming equipment. All the trails are free and are groomed for the enjoyment of all including cross country skiers, walkers, snowshoes, fat bikers and dogs.
Hummock's and Uplands Trail
BSCO completed construction of the Hummocks and Uplands Trails and Trailhead, in August 2014. The two natural surface trails added 5 miles of moderate terrain easily accessible from Big Sky Town Center and several residential neighborhoods. Funding for the project was granted from Big Sky Area Resort Tax District and the Recreational Trails Program.
Traffic Signal
Pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular safety improved in the summer of 2017 in the Big Sky Meadow area with the installation of a traffic control signal at the intersection of Lone Mountain Trail (HWY 64) and Ousel Falls Road. Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) determined that the intersection met warrant criterial for the installation of a traffic control signal. The project was funded in collaboration with local developers (50%) and the Big Sky Area Resort Tax District (50%). BSCO’s role in the project was focused on connecting the recreational opportunities of parks and trails, to neighborhoods, businesses and essential services that are located on both the north and south side of HWY 64.
View the traffic signal site plan here.
Trailhead Upgrades
With the purchase of the parcel on which the Upper Beehive Basin trailhead is located, BSCO is designing improvements to add additional parking and needed trailhead amenities such bear proof trash cans, a toilet facility and updated trailhead kiosks. The project is funded in part by a Recreational Trails Program grant. These improvements will improve the existing trailhead facilities and safety by reducing the number of vehicles parking on the roadway and allowing better access for emergency services and homeowners. The project will result in the dedication of the entire parcel as RT & Ralph’s Beehive Preserve.
Additionally, the Ousel Falls trailhead is in the process of a redesign to allow for the initiation of service by the Skyline Bus. The parking lot will include a second entrance/exit to allow for the busses to pull through the parking lot efficiently and safely. The service will allow for the ability to hike to Ousel Falls from Town Center via Uplands and Ralph’s Pass and catch a ride back to town.
Trail Counters
BSCO installed trail and vehicle counters to help us better understand and manage our parks and trails. The data will be used when planning future park and trail projects and while applying for grant and funding opportunities.
