A Trail for Everyone: FWP, partners use ‘nothing about us without us’ approach to creating accessible trails

Not everyone who wants to get outside can just lace up a pair of boots and go. That’s a reality a lot of us don’t think about enough — and it’s exactly what FWP and a handful of partners are trying to change at Flathead Lake State Park’s Wayfarers Unit near Kalispell.

The Harry Horn Trail looks a little different these days. Brush has been cleared, stretches of trail widened and leveled, and rocks and roots pulled out of the path — the kind of obstacles that don’t slow most hikers down but can make a trail completely impassable for someone in a wheelchair or using another mobility device. It’s a real improvement. And if you’ve spent any time at Wayfarers, you know the setting makes it worth the effort to get right.

“Everyone in Montana deserves the opportunity to explore our state parks,” said Amy Grout, FWP’s regional recreation manager. “Accessible trails can help all sorts of people get outdoors.”

What makes this project stand apart isn’t just the trail work itself — it’s how they went about planning it. FWP, the Montana State Parks Foundation, Montana Conservation Corps, Summit Independent Living, and other partners built the whole effort around one principle: “nothing about us without us.” Instead of letting engineers and planners check boxes against an accessibility standard and call it done, they brought people with disabilities into the room from day one.

In September 2025, the Montana State Parks Foundation partnered with the University of Montana Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities to run a Walk Move Audit at Wayfarers. About 20 people participated — all of them either living with a disability themselves or caring for someone who does. Their feedback surfaced things that wouldn’t show up on a blueprint. Participants were direct: they didn’t want paved or concrete surfaces. They wanted natural, hard-packed trail that still moves underfoot the way trail should. Meeting a minimum standard and actually serving the people you’re trying to serve aren’t always the same thing. This audit pushed the project past the minimum.

Honestly, that distinction matters more than most trail planners want to admit. Accessibility standards exist for good reason, but they were written by people working from measurements, not lived experience. There’s a difference between a trail that technically qualifies and one that someone actually wants to use.

The response since the project wrapped up says plenty. Holly Wilson, a local trail enthusiast who also deals with vision challenges, didn’t hold back. “This project is phenomenal,” she said. “With the improvements on the trail, it’s easier to see and there’s no issues. I love to walk, and every time I’m at Wayfarers it’s a fabulous experience because I leave with an attitude of gratitude. I’m thankful for nature and for the staff who truly care about what’s happening in the park and who are looking out for all of us.”

Then there’s Bosco. Bosco is a corgi with a wheelchair, and rough, uneven trail makes his outings a lot harder than they need to be. The smoothed-out Harry Horn Trail means Bosco and his owner, Diane Whited, can actually move through the park together without the terrain working against them. That’s not a small thing.

“For Bosco, having a trail that is smoother and easier for him to navigate means he gets to experience nature and be included in these activities, too,” Whited said. “We love being outside together, and having places where he can safely enjoy the trail with me means so much.”

In my experience, the projects that actually stick — the ones that become models instead of one-offs — are the ones where the people doing the planning took time to listen before they picked up a shovel. Harry Horn looks like one of those projects. Grout’s team isn’t treating it as a finished product, either. The goal is to use what worked here as a template for accessible trail improvements at state parks across Montana.

“The hope is that this Wayfarer’s project won’t be a one-time success story, but a model for future projects across the state,” Grout said. “By listening to the people who use our parks, considering accessibility from the beginning, and working together to remove barriers, we can create outdoor experiences that welcome more people — and more pets.”

Montana’s public lands belong to everybody. Getting more people onto the trail — whatever that takes — is the right call.