We dig trails. Specifically, trails that you can ride your mountain bike on. Way back in 2015, picking up where the Dirt Concern of Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club left off, a group of Bozeman mountain bikers decided to organize a new group which not only builds and maintains trail, but advocates for mountain-bike access on public lands. Five years later, we’ve grown into an independent 501(c)3 governed by an all-volunteer board of directors directing one part-time employee.
Simply put, our goal is to build, maintain, and advocate for mountain-bike trails. We do this in a variety of ways:
We build new trail systems, such as the over 20 miles of singletrack at Copper City
We maintain hundreds of miles of multi-user trail
We advocate for continued access to public lands trails
And we partner with local, state, and national management agencies to improve neglected recreation resources
The legacy of mountain-bike advocacy runs deep in Montana. SWMMBA draws on decades of work by innumerable volunteers when championing mountain-bike access, and we’ve grown out of that legacy. As mountain biking became more popular within the state and access more under threat, it was clear a focused effort on advocacy was needed. We are that effort.
From our headquarters in Bozeman, we service almost 20,000 square miles of southwest Montana. Within that area, we host trail work on hundreds of miles of Forest Service trail on the Custer Gallatin National Forest.
Near the small town of Three Forks, we built Copper City, a 20-plus-mile trail system, using a stacked-loop design to engage novice, beginner, and intermediate riders, an underserved segment of the trail-riding community. Copper City is now the most popular riding destination in our area, hosting youth races, trail-running events, industry demo days.
Throughout the spring and summer, we host a variety of trail-work days on area trails, bringing together user groups and land-management agencies to improve our community’s cherished trail resources. This serves as an opportunity to educate trail users on recreation’s impact while advocating for responsible etiquette.
(5/23/2023)
Sponsorships: development@southwestmontanamba.org
Instagram: @swmontanamba
Facebook: facebook.com/SWMMBAmt
Email: info@southwestmontanamba.org
Website: southwestmontanamba.org