The hills bordering Anaconda’s south side, with their burgeoning quaking aspen stands and red-rock outcroppings, tempt those who crave outdoor adventure.
Mountain bikers and hikers eager to experience Anaconda’s enticing uplands, however, quickly learn the challenge, and even the danger, that awaits.
“They’re a bugger to climb up,” said Bryan Cyr, a lifelong Anaconda resident and longtime mountain biker. “Having trails designed for climbing that have switchbacks and less grade make it a lot easier for everybody — even the expert riders.”
Within a year, the trail improvements that Cyr speaks of will likely be underway as the state’s Natural Resource Damage Program and Anaconda-Deer Lodge County collaborate to turn an area once contaminated beyond use by mining-related activities into a recreationally rich lode. Proponents see benefits for both the community’s health and economy.
“Anaconda is so cool; it sits exactly at the interface of the restoration and recreational economies,” said Ray Vinkey, an environmental scientist for NRDP.
The potential for marked, accessible, developed trails for hiking, mountain biking, horse riding and motorized use is specific to about 3,000 acres on the east end of the city, specifically the C and A Hills to the south and Stucky Ridge above the Old Works Golf Course to the north, said county planner Carl Hamming.
“They’re the bookends of Anaconda,” he said.
Originally belonging to the Anaconda Company, Stucky Ridge and the C Hill are now county property; the county is in the process of acquiring 160 acres on the A Hill.
The areas were so heavily poisoned with heavy metals from a century of historic copper smelting that they were devoid of vegetation for years. Time and intense cleanup have allowed the landscape to heal.
Now, the A and C hills, which are lush with deciduous trees in the summer that transition to a stunning show of color in the fall, attract hikers, mountain bikers and trail runners. Across the narrow valley, Stucky Ridge’s rust-colored rock hangs above the Old Works Golf Course and Warm Springs Creek, alluring dirt-bike riders with exciting climbs.
However, only the fittest and boldest currently play in the uplands as existing trails are treacherously steep, slippery with shale and washed out, said Katie Racette, who frequently uses the trails.
“I’d like to see them be more accessible to a wider group of people,” she said. “Right now they’re only available to people who can hike straight up and down and don’t have to worry about their ankles being twisted.”
The money for the new trails has deeply historic roots originating from a Superfund-adjacent lawsuit filed by the state of Montana.
The Anaconda Company was owned by Atlantic Richfield Company when it stopped smelting copper mined in Butte in the 1980s. The remnants of its operations became one of the nation’s largest Superfund sites, but a long, complex clean-up process has remediated much of the land around Anaconda to federal human health standards.
The state of Montana sued Atlantic Richfield for damage to natural resources, including wildlife habitat. The 2008 settlement was for $13.3 million for restoration on Mount Haggin and Stucky Ridge. The settlement earmarked $4 million for a restoration plan for the uplands, which calls for habitat enhancement, ecological recreation and recreation enhancement on county lands east of town. The county and NRDP are collaborating to spend a part of that $4 million on trail development.
“We are still determining how much can be used for recreation,” Vinkey said. “The funds from the NRDP specific to recreation could be start-up funds for establishing a trail network or cleaning up existing networks. It won’t be enough to meet all the Anaconda community’s needs, but it’ll be a great cornerstone.”
Trails are on Anaconda’s recreational wish list.
In 2023, a public survey used to create the county’s open lands plan, which NRDP uses to guide its distribution of money, enthusiastically called for more hiking, biking, horse-riding and motorized trails.
“People were very excited about the establishment of multi-use trails, … and they were especially interested in winter recreation, wildlife habitat and habitat conservation,” Vinkey said.
In recent years, Anaconda’s focus has shifted from industry to ecology. It is central to The Continental Divide Trail, the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area, the Flint Creek Range, the Big Hole River, Georgetown Lake and other public treasures. Uniquely, nearly 70% of the land in the county belongs to the public.
“We have injured lands, which were already sitting in an incredible natural environment,” Vinkey said. “Being able to spend funds from this settlement to enhance wildlife habitat and recreation is going to be an enormous benefit to the community.”
The trails, Hamming said, would be another advantage for a community betting on recreation.
“It’s an investment in the community for the residents,” he said. “To have a trail system that leads out your backdoor is a tremendous asset.”
The long view for the uplands is similar to Blue Mountain Recreation Area in Missoula, a 4,900-acre public spread with marked and dedicated trails for various users. Funding beyond NRDP would be necessary to make that vision a reality. In the short term, though, state funds could be used to create basic signage — called wayfinding in trail vernacular — simple trailheads, establish safe trails and obliterate dangerous paths for all users, Hamming said.
“We have injured lands, which were already sitting in an incredible natural environment. Being able to spend funds from this settlement to enhance wildlife habitat and recreation is going to be an enormous benefit to the community.”
Ray Vinkey, environmental scientist
“Different types of users have put trails in throughout the years,” he said, adding that official trails for designated uses are necessary. “We see a lot of conflicts with motorized and non-motorized users.”
Planned trails are important to reduce conflict and increase accessibility, said Emily Adams, president of the Anaconda Trails Society.
“We have plenty of territory,” said Adams, whose organization has pledged to partner with the county to maintain trails in the long term. “We absolutely want wayfinding. We want residents and visitors to see where they’re going with ease.”
Accessible trails are best for the community as they foster relationships and health, Racette said.
“Anaconda is surrounded by so much natural beauty,” she said. “I think that a trail that is accessible to all sorts of people only improves that community connection.”
Cyr, who is a member of the trail society, acknowledged that developing trails will attract more users, which might be uncomfortable for some people who are not used to sharing space.
“Mountain bikers will travel for good trails,” he said. “If the trails get spread out and they’re well designed, instead of running into nobody you might run into four or five people.”
However, developing the trails will improve the quality of life for the majority, including visitors to town, he said.
“I don’t know how many undiscovered mountain towns in the West there are, but Anaconda has to be one of the last,” Cyr said. “It’s happening everywhere. It’s just going to happen. We might as well make it so we can have an economic boost from it.”
While economic growth is not the project’s goal, Hamming said it is a possible consequence of investing in trail development.
“I don’t know how many undiscovered mountain towns in the West there are, but Anaconda has to be one of the last. It’s happening everywhere. It’s just going to happen. We might as well make it so we can have an economic boost from it.”
Bryan Cyr, Anaconda resident
“It might be a nice feature if a family is thinking about relocating to Anaconda,” he said.
NRDP is now amending the formal plan for the uplands to determine how much of the $4 million can be set aside for recreation, including trail development. A public comment period is expected to begin in late July or early August, and the plan needs the governor’s approval. Officials expect that work could begin next year.
Ultimately, improved public access is in Anaconda’s future.
“We just want this to be for everybody,” Adams said.
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