RAPID CITY - Cowboy Hill, also known as M Hill, could become home to a network of hiking and biking trails, with the most challenging routes at the top and the more pedestrian paths down below.
That's according to the plan put together by the Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park Foundation and other groups that are turning the 280-acre hogback in the middle of Rapid City into an outdoor recreation area.
The foundation spent $10,000 to bring in trail-design experts from the International Mountain Bicycling Association in Boulder, Colo.
IMBA designers spent 10 days in April on the hill surveying the terrain and mapping out a trail system. The goal is to create a network that will provide a variety of outdoor experiences for people with various skill levels, said Michael Diedrich, foundation chairman.
"The plan is very cool. It treats M Hill like a ski area, with the more difficult riding toward the top of the hill," he said.
Trails would range from 72-inch-wide paved paths with grades of less than 5 percent to routes - labeled as "double black diamond" - to what would be unimproved 6-inch paths with grades as steep as 20 percent or more.
There would also be a jump-and-bump recreation spot for children at the southwest corner of the hill where the existing city bike path crosses Rapid Creek.
"Trail recreation isn't just about getting from one place to the next; it's about getting there on winding, challenging, awe-inspiring routes that make us feel like we've been someplace special and done something worthwhile," the IMBA wrote in its report.
"With the implementation of this trial plan, Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park has the opportunity to become a model for sustainable trails and outdoor recreation, and provide an amazing open space and exercise amenity for the residents of Rapid City."
The next step is the foundation's application for a $600,000 recreational trails program grant from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks.
Diedrich said the RTP grant would be matched by cash from the Foundation and in-kind labor from the 150-member Black Hills Mountain Bike Association. Dirk Gustin, a Rapid City firefighter and member of the BHMBA, worked with the trail designers and wrote the grant application to the GF&P. Diedrich said work could begin this fall, and the whole area could be open by next spring.
The prospects for winning a RTP grant this year, however, are unclear.
Scott Carbonneau, trails program specialist for the Game, Fish & Parks Department, said RTP funding is limited. This year, the program received $900,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
A one-time $600,000 grant for a single project would be difficult to fund in its entirety, Carbonneau said. It might have to be funded in phases or somehow changed to meet the RTP budget.
"That is undoubtedly an excellent project; it would benefit a large number of people and provide a pretty big bang for the buck," Carbonneau said. "But there are a lot of excellent projects out there."
Carbonneau said the RTP board meets June 21, and the final grant decisions should be announced by early July.
Last fall, when the Lien family of Rapid City put the entire 370-acre Cowboy Hill parcel up for sale, they set aside 40 acres - 20 acres donated to the city and 20 acres sold to the city - for the Chuck Lien Family Park.
The Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park Foundation bought the remaining 330 acres. In addition, the Simpson family has an option to buy as much as 90 acres at the far north end for housing.
Jerry Cole, Rapid City director of parks and recreation, said the city is working closely with the Hanson-Larsen foundation to turn the Lien and Hanson-Larsen parks into a single recreation area.
To visitors, the park would look like a single venue. But the Lien park and the Hanson-Larsen park will have different land managers.
The whole tract is almost surrounded by private property, but Cole said a number of access points are being established. The bike path pedestrian bridge, a path through the Founders Park development (the former Federal Beef property) and a site near Scott Mallow Park would likely serve as trailheads.
The Rapid City Convention & Visitors Bureau looks forward to promoting the new recreation area, said CVB executive director Michelle Lintz.
CVB staffer Matt Reed and the Rapid City Sports Council have been working to promote Rapid City as a destination for a variety of sporting events such as basketball, hockey and gymnastics contests.
Even things such as arm wrestling tournaments and mountain bike races can bring people to Rapid City. The CVB helped local groups bring the recent Fat Tire Festival to Rapid City, and a second annual festival is planned for next year.
The Hanson-Larsen Memorial Park Foundation was created on behalf of the late Edna Larsen, the longtime Rapid City and Hermosa resident. She died in 2004 at age 93. She was born in Rapid City, attended South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and spent most of her life in the area.
She wanted her estate to be used to build public parks in her family's name.
Jeff Denison of US Bank worked with Edna Larsen to handle her estate and set up the foundation. At the time, they had no specific park ideas, Denison said.
But the sequence of events - the Lien family put the M Hill property up for sale just two years after the foundation was created - seemed serendipitous, Denison said.
"The timing was right. Things seemed to fall into place," he said. "This is going to benefit the community for 100 years."
Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or at dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com
