ICORE gets foundation grant for trail effort

HURLEY — The Gogebic Range Health Foundation recently awarded Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts a $20,000 grant to help develop local non-motorized trails in the area.

The money will help the group make improvements to the trailhead between the Montreal River and 2nd Avenue/U.S. 51 in Hurley. It will also help extend the non-motorized trail from the trailhead toward Hurley’s Cary Park and the city of Montreal.

“We are very grateful to the Gogebic Range Health Foundation for supporting this project. The funds will allow major improvements to the Hurley Trailhead this year and help us purchase the railroad grade between Hurley and Montreal for a future trail,” ICORE president Mike Ondresky said in a news release.

ICORE has been working with the city of Hurley and other local partners to develop the trailhead since the land was acquired in 2017, and have made a series of improvements, including — extending the paved trail from Michigan’s Iron Belle Trail over the river and two blocks into Wisconsin, installing benches and bike racks, seeding grass, planting trees and shrubs, and clearing a path down to the Montreal River.

The money from the grant will help the group add a gravel parking area for 13 cars, solar lighting, a bike maintenance station and a dog waste station, an ICORE spokesperson said in the release.

“The mission of the Health Foundation is to promote the health of the Gogebic Range community, and the focus of the 2019 funding cycle was to enhance opportunities to walk and bike in the Gogebic Range communities,” said Candy Pogliano, the executive director of the health foundation. “Improving the Hurley Trailhead will provide greater access to the seven-mile Iron Belle Trail between Ironwood and Bessemer, and we look forward to future connections to Montreal and Ramsay.”

—Richard Jenkins