Our geographic focus.
The Lake Mountain Trails Association is a Utah incorporated, independent 501-C3, founded in 2018 for the purpose of providing advocacy, organizing and providing maintenance, raising money for, and furthering the establishment of trails in the Lake Mountain area. The Lake Mountain Area includes the towns of Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Cedar Fort, Fairfield, along with unincorporated lands in the Cedar Valley and around Lake Mountain to the West shore of Utah Lake. Within this area is also included places like Manning Canyon, Pole Canyon, Five Mile Pass, Thorpe Hills, South Lake Mountain, Hidden Hollow, and others. The maps below show the greater context of the area and then a zoomed in version of where we focus our work.
This Area Includes the work of
This Area Includes the work of
What we do.
Our organization's mission, put simply, is to create the best possible experience on trails for our communities. It means that we puts our efforts and resources into the following three areas of focus:
1. Protect and Enhance Existing Trails
We are stewards over our existing trails and work to protect, enhance, and maintain them.
2. Advocate and Help Build New Trails
We help with the planning, design, funding, and building of new trails in the area.
3. Provide Valuable Information
We provide information and education about trails to users, land owners/managers, and communities.
1. Protect and Enhance Existing Trails
We are stewards over our existing trails and work to protect, enhance, and maintain them.
2. Advocate and Help Build New Trails
We help with the planning, design, funding, and building of new trails in the area.
3. Provide Valuable Information
We provide information and education about trails to users, land owners/managers, and communities.
How we do it.
To accomplish our mission through the work we do in the above three focus areas, we employ a variety of activities and efforts. Here are five ways we do this.
1. Fundraising
We help raise money from grants, sponsors, community members, and other sources to help pay for new trail building, trail maintenance costs, trail enhancements, and other worthwhile, trail related projects and programs.
2. Advocacy/Collaboration
This work requires a lot of communication and collaboration with many different entities from private contractors/trail builders to cities, the BLM, private land owners, and more. It requires that we work together to strategically plan for trail needs, design trails and trail signage, and work with the community to educate on trail usage. We become both advocates for trails and partners with all stakeholders (which are many). We have to consider various trail user types such as motorized, mountain bikers, hikers and runners, equestrian, and other needs. We help stakeholders like cities make decisions and accomplish work that is harder for them to do by themselves.
3. Education
Having great trails and trail experiences requires that we educate users on things like trail etiquette. It also includes providing great information about our trails so users can access and use them well. These efforts might include trail tours, online information, managing trails on Trailforks, and more. This year we will also be releasing our first online etiquette course for the general public to take online. We will continue to put effort into producing great educational content for this subject in hopes that it will improve the experience on the trails for all users and keep the quality of our trails high.
4. Events and Programs
Trails and trail work can be fun! We have several events and programs throughout the year, such as our Trail Therapy program that connects people, builds awareness and a love for our trails, and gets communities engaged in doing good.
5. Service
Of course, we spend a lot of time working on our trails. From designing them to building them to maintaining and enhancing them. We spend time working on trails. We are the stewards of these amazing resources and its a core part of what we do, to get out on the trails to do work. This can be garbage cleanup, trail building, repair work, and more.
1. Fundraising
We help raise money from grants, sponsors, community members, and other sources to help pay for new trail building, trail maintenance costs, trail enhancements, and other worthwhile, trail related projects and programs.
2. Advocacy/Collaboration
This work requires a lot of communication and collaboration with many different entities from private contractors/trail builders to cities, the BLM, private land owners, and more. It requires that we work together to strategically plan for trail needs, design trails and trail signage, and work with the community to educate on trail usage. We become both advocates for trails and partners with all stakeholders (which are many). We have to consider various trail user types such as motorized, mountain bikers, hikers and runners, equestrian, and other needs. We help stakeholders like cities make decisions and accomplish work that is harder for them to do by themselves.
3. Education
Having great trails and trail experiences requires that we educate users on things like trail etiquette. It also includes providing great information about our trails so users can access and use them well. These efforts might include trail tours, online information, managing trails on Trailforks, and more. This year we will also be releasing our first online etiquette course for the general public to take online. We will continue to put effort into producing great educational content for this subject in hopes that it will improve the experience on the trails for all users and keep the quality of our trails high.
4. Events and Programs
Trails and trail work can be fun! We have several events and programs throughout the year, such as our Trail Therapy program that connects people, builds awareness and a love for our trails, and gets communities engaged in doing good.
5. Service
Of course, we spend a lot of time working on our trails. From designing them to building them to maintaining and enhancing them. We spend time working on trails. We are the stewards of these amazing resources and its a core part of what we do, to get out on the trails to do work. This can be garbage cleanup, trail building, repair work, and more.
Goals and commitments.
he LMTA wants to ensure that we do not just passionately moving forward without clear goals and commitments for how we accomplish our vision and mission. Here are our goals and commitments:
LONG TERM/BIG GOALS
SHORT TERM GOALS (2022)
1. We will do things legally and ethically.
We will not build trails illegally or violate local laws and regulations. We will work within established processes and seek creative, innovative approaches that will enable us to get things done as valuable partners to our stakeholders.
2. We will communicate as thoroughly as possible.
We will do our best to provide up to date information as accurately and as soon as we are able to all stakeholders through regular communication, updates to our social pages, and an up-to-date website.
3. We will be inclusive in our thinking and our actions.
We will maintain a board and perspective that represents the various trail user types and community needs.
4. We will do quality work.
We will use the most up-to-date best practices, quality contractors, and use careful, professional planning to create and maintain trails. We do not want to cut corners in the name of "getting things done".
5. We will be good partners.
It is critical that we be good partners with other organizations, government officials, land manager/owners, and the communities where we work.
6. We will work to maintain what we have.
We will always include maintenance into our project plans and work with communities and other organizations to preserve and protect our trails to the best we can. A portion of all trail budgets, or at least a committed maintenance plan, should be dedicated to the maintenance of that project, or the project should not be done.
7. We will do awesome stuff.
We'll think big, be creative, and work hard to get you the coolest, awesome trail systems we can with the resources we have. We don't want to settle for 2nd best. Why not us?!
8. We'll be true to our area.
We are not trying to be Corner Canyon, Valley Vista, Moab, or anywhere else. We have our own unique geography, climate, style, and experience. We want to be true to that. This means we create and maintain our own "brand" per se on our trails - a uniquely Lake Mountain flavor that people will love and want to repeat over and over.
LONG TERM/BIG GOALS
- Work with communities and other stakeholders to plan and create a regional, connected trail system.
SHORT TERM GOALS (2022)
- Design and implement a trail signage program for all existing trails, beginning with trails in Eagle Mountain City's bike park and the new beginner XC trails (STARTING SOON)
- Complete Phase 1 of the Bike Park revamp/upgrade and plan and fundraise for phase 2. (IN PROGRESS)
- Complete Hickman Hills beginner trails/system (IN PROGRESS)
- Re-brand LMTA with a new logo, upgrade online presence on social and with a website and other tools that help communicate (IN PROGRESS)
- Implement the Trail Therapy program (IN PROGRESS)
1. We will do things legally and ethically.
We will not build trails illegally or violate local laws and regulations. We will work within established processes and seek creative, innovative approaches that will enable us to get things done as valuable partners to our stakeholders.
2. We will communicate as thoroughly as possible.
We will do our best to provide up to date information as accurately and as soon as we are able to all stakeholders through regular communication, updates to our social pages, and an up-to-date website.
3. We will be inclusive in our thinking and our actions.
We will maintain a board and perspective that represents the various trail user types and community needs.
4. We will do quality work.
We will use the most up-to-date best practices, quality contractors, and use careful, professional planning to create and maintain trails. We do not want to cut corners in the name of "getting things done".
5. We will be good partners.
It is critical that we be good partners with other organizations, government officials, land manager/owners, and the communities where we work.
6. We will work to maintain what we have.
We will always include maintenance into our project plans and work with communities and other organizations to preserve and protect our trails to the best we can. A portion of all trail budgets, or at least a committed maintenance plan, should be dedicated to the maintenance of that project, or the project should not be done.
7. We will do awesome stuff.
We'll think big, be creative, and work hard to get you the coolest, awesome trail systems we can with the resources we have. We don't want to settle for 2nd best. Why not us?!
8. We'll be true to our area.
We are not trying to be Corner Canyon, Valley Vista, Moab, or anywhere else. We have our own unique geography, climate, style, and experience. We want to be true to that. This means we create and maintain our own "brand" per se on our trails - a uniquely Lake Mountain flavor that people will love and want to repeat over and over.