STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Jenna Vagias scampered up a steep hillside bordering Quigley Canyon to a trail that had been cut into the soil a month earlier.

From her perch she could see the future of Nordic skiing, hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding in the canyon, which lies behind Wood River High School.

The barley growing below disappeared as she saw in her mind’s eye Nordic trails snaking back and forth between the hillsides lining the canyon.

Using her imagination, she visualized the two-mile trail that her colleague--BCRD Trail Director Eric Rector--had cut earlier this spring when the ground was soft and spongy becoming part of a five-mile perimeter horseshoe-like trail with trailheads at the north and south sides of Quigley Canyon.

“I wish I could run on this. But it’s the trail to nowhere right now,” she said. “It’s not connected to anything.  And in a couple weeks it’s going to be dangerous to be on it, so we probably won’t open it to public use until next spring.”

Indeed, Quigley Canyon is about to become a beehive of activity as excavators, backhoes and other heavy machinery move in to put in infrastructure for Quigley Farm following Hailey’s annexation this week of the proposed development.

And the Blaine County Recreation District will now be allowed to get started on its Nordic trails, thanks to an agreement signed this week with Quigley Farm, which outlines the terms regarding Quigley Farms’ land will be made accessible to the public via BCRD.

BCRD, which operated Nordic trails in Quigley until 2012, plans on grooming 15 kilometers of Nordic trails in Quigley Canyon this coming winter. That’s more than the nine kilometers of terrain it groomed at Croy Nordic and more than the 10 to 13 kilometers of terrain that the BCRD formerly groomed in Quigley.

Four to five kilometers will be dog and fat-bike friendly, versus the two to three kilometers of dog-friendly trails at Croy Nordic.

The trails will start near the Bloom Farm and squiggle back and forth. There will be a figure eight past the pond with some trails looping up the hillsides.

It’s expected that the area will have a longer season than Croy, even in low snow years like last year.  Croy was open just 10 days last winter amidst conditions that were marginal at best, said Vagias.

“Quigley holds snow better than Croy in part because it’s better sheltered by the mountains,” said Vagias. “So we don’t need as much snow to make a go of it.”

In addition, Vagias said, Quigley Farms gifted the BCRD with 107 acres with water rights just west of Bloom Farm. That means the BCRD will be able to make snow to cover at least a short loop, Vagias said.

That will give young Nordic skiers with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation a place to ski early in the season so they won’t have to spend valuable training time doing activities off the snow or being transported to the Lake Creek trails north of Ketchum.

“We crushed all kinds of skier user records last year on our trails north of Ketchum since we were able to groom just three days short of a six-month season,” said Vagias. “Part of that included a huge uptick of kids skiing the trails. Having more skiing closer to the population base would only boost that number.”

The BCRD plans to remove the agricultural shelter that currently sits on that parcel of land and replace it with the yurt warming hut that currently sits in Lions Park. There will be restrooms and drinking water,  a sledding hill and, perhaps, a fire pit.

The BCRD is also working with architects to envision a four-season pavilion.

“We want it to maintain look and feel of the historic Fox Barn, which sits near our aquatic center,” said Vagias. “We’re in the dreaming phase right now, and we want imput from the community. If the community told us we need a bike washing station there, well maybe we’ll think about that.”

BIKING, HIKING AND HORSEBACK RIDING

In summer that snow park could serve as a base of activity for a pump park that would replace the one near the aquatic center, a bike flow trail and the trailhead for a hiking trail that would take hikers up the shoulder of the hill for a nice view overlooking Hailey.

The five-mile perimeter trail that will connect the north and south hillsides is not technically designed according to ADA standards. But it will be wide and smooth enough for wheelchairs to use, Vagias said. The steep ups and downs on the current trail on the northern side of the fields will be reworked so the grades are 5 percent or less and more user-friendly.

The multi-use trail was purposely designed for walkers to walk side by side, as Quigley Canyon users are fond of the opportunity for chit chat, she added.

“I just love the new trail because it offers a different view of Quigley than you get from the north side,” said Vagias. And the fact we were able to cut it this spring will allow the path to compact real nicely for when we are ready to open it to the public.”

Mountain bikers wanting more challenging trails will be able to connect into new single track that the Bureau of Land Management is expected to build leading to Cutter’s Park, Ohio Gulch and out Quigley Canyon.

The BLM is expected to announce its travel plan regarding 50 or 60 miles of new trails in September.

The BCRD hopes to extend the bike path running along Fox Acres Road to the Quigley trails. And it’s  working with the Blaine County School District to tie the Quigley trails to the Toe of the Hill Trail, which starts just southeast of Silver Creek High School and runs towards Bellevue.

The BCRD conducted a needs assessment in 2016, in which those surveyed identified Hailey as the place needing additional recreation opportunities the most, said Jim Keating, executive director of the BCRD.

“They said that we need more single track trails near where people live,” he said. “This connects people to their public lands and it connects schools, the Community Campus and other organizations to those lands.”

Vagias agreed that the new trail networks will be game changing.

“People will be able to access the trails at lunch, before work, after school,” she said. “It’s a massive undertaking because we’re working with private land owner, the city, the county and BLM. But we wouldn’t have this at all, if not for Quigley Farms development.”