Basin Recreation seeks public-trail access across Park City School District land

Matt Wagner, district superintendent for Basin Recreation, asked the Park City School District Board of Education to collaborate on building the proposed Haimuki Trail, a multiuse and single-track trail connection intended to link Pinebrook Open Space and Ecker Hill area trails to the Mid Mountain Trail.

Wagner said the trail concept rests on an option agreement originally established in 2011 that included a provision for public trails through the Haimuki property; that option expires in 2026. "We're coming up against one of them, which is the end of the agreement in 2026," Wagner said, adding that recent land transfers have made negotiation to deliver the long-promised trail "possible." He said construction could begin "as soon as this summer" but that work should not mobilize before July 1 because of environmental constraints.

The proposal asks the district to allow a short corridor that would cross the upper corner of school property to tie an improved multiuse pathway to existing neighborhood trails. Basin Recreation proposes separate single-track alignments where users gain or lose roughly 500 feet in elevation to keep fast downhill cyclists off pedestrian sections. Wagner also said Basin Recreation plans to move a community walking loop away from the immediate school edge "up the hill and away from the school" and to route trail users to parking and trailhead areas adjacent to the school rather than through campus grounds.

Board members and staff pressed Basin Recreation on student safety, campus access and parking management. A board member summarized the district's primary concern as "ensuring student safety and making sure they're accessing the trail for -- and not in the roadway." Wagner said Basin Recreation is "absolutely open" to security and separation measures and noted the district could make the trail available as a community amenity for students as well.

Basin Recreation described carrying-capacity and parking steps already in place at other trailheads: it hires a team of three managers stationed at trailheads, and uses automated counters that show peak weekend entries roughly between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wagner estimated the proposed connector could be about 5 miles of trail in total if completed but said completing all segments in one season would be a push depending on weather and construction windows.

The board invited Basin Recreation to return with additional details and indicated it expects a follow-up next month before any formal decision. No formal vote or agreement was recorded at the meeting.

Wagner: "We're really just here to open up the conversation and answer questions you might have based on this proposal."