a forever trail, for everyone

Enjoy the new extension of the Idler’s Rest trail system on the beautiful Penstemon Path and Love Connection loop trail!

Trailhead info:

Next time you visit Idler’s Rest Nature Preserve, look about 10 feet to the left of the restroom facility - you’ve found the trailhead entrance to Penstemon Path!

The trail is an approximately two-mile “teardrop” loop trail, featuring intermediate grades and turns for mountain biking and hiking and some of the best views available on the entire Moscow Mountain trail corridor. The path begins in the parking lot at Idler’s Rest, meanders up through open meadowland, and finally winds through the forestlands on Moscow Mountain.

Looking to explore more? From the top middle of the teardrop, continue heading north up the mountain on the newly completed Love Connection trail! This challenging, switchback connector links Penstemon Path to Jack’s Route and the full MAMBA trail corridor across Moscow Mountain.

a forever trail, for everyone

 “The moment I saw this property, I knew I wanted to protect it and share it with everyone.”

As a landowner, we each have the right to prohibit or grant access to our land.  Many conservation landowners in the land trust family elect to allow access for educational or research purposes, while many prefer to limit access, both of which are perfect and appropriate.  But every so often, a landowner comes along with the express desire to share the land, and open access to anyone and everyone.  One such landowner is Trish Hartzell.

Thanks to your continued support, Trish is soon set to complete the permanent protection of almost 60-acres of her property, which abuts Idler’s Rest Nature Preserve.  The protection of land adjacent to the preserve is a huge win for plant, insect and wildlife habitat and travel corridors, but it also presents an amazing opportunity for humans, too: the creation of Moscow Mountain’s first permanently protected public recreational trail. 

With partial funding from the Thomas O. Brown Foundation, the outdoor community stepped up to make the trail a reality in 2022. Members and leadership of MAMBA (Moscow Area Mountain Biking Association) and Palouse Road Runners and other outdoor enthusiasts joined in the Moscow Mountain Forever Initiative to raise an additional $20,000 in matching funds to construct and steward the trail in perpetuity. Thank you for making it possible!

Trish’s trail and easement have now increased recreational opportunities around Idler’s Rest and Moscow Mountain exponentially. Love Connection now links Penstemon Path to Jack’s Route and the entire MAMBA trail corridor atop Moscow Mountain.  While nearly all of Moscow Mountain’s current trails are on private land, this will be the first that’s legally protected for the use of the public, forever.

building for perpetuity

Since early June 2022, over 300 hours of volunteer effort have been given to construct the new trail.  Community members, project partners MAMBA and Palouse Road Runners, local businesses (thank you METER Group and Knit!), and students from UI and WSU have wielded rogue hoes, shovels, and pickaxes to build Penstemon Path.

With technical support from the dedicated team at MAMBA, the trail has been designed and built with sustainability as a first priority for both hikers and bikers. 

the future

Taking a page from the culture of access in England and Scotland, Trish sees the land as something shared by us all, with boundaries that serve as a description, not a hindrance.  “I’m just a steward of this land, not an owner. My goal is to restore it with native species and share it with everyone.  I want to be an example to others to do the same!”

For Trish, “building this trail across my property brings me joy in so many ways.  I’ve met neighbors I didn’t even know were right around the hill and so many interesting new people.  They come here to see wildlife and just be in nature and find peace – all the things I love, too.  I love that we are creating magical places, together.”