Idaho Falls

IDAHOFALLSMAGAZINE.COM 45 Western Trail, which goes from Arizona to Montana. You could ride for days. A trail of this magnitude could not have come to fruition without the hard work of lots of people and agencies. The Caribou Loop Trail committee consisted of several county commissioners over the years but cur- rently includes; Bryce Somsen from Caribou (Idaho), Dave Radford Bonneville (Idaho) and Robert King Lincoln (Wyoming) counties as well as private citi- zens. Other agencies involved include the Idaho Parks and Recreation, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Transportation Department, Wyoming Department of Transportation, Caribou County Road and Bridge, Stewards of the Greys, the Blue Ribbon Coalition and the Great Western Trail. Years Of Work Marvin Guzman, former president of Eagle Rock OHV and one of the CLT committee members, pointed out that Mike Titus, with the Great Western Trail, initially started working with the Forest Service on the idea of a large loop trail in 2014. Titus presented the initial outside trail plan map in February, 2015, and the commissioners from the three counties got the ball rolling to make this trail a reality. Nearly every mile of the CLT already existed in county and forest roads and trails, but the group wanted to tie it all together and the bridge, trail connector, and local ATV, side-by-side, and dirt bikers user groups were keys to making this all happen. Guzman rallied the local organizations and is still involved today. Guzman said the goal was to "tie all of these trails and roads, which had already been created, together forming a 200+ mile outside large loop with many smaller trail loops. These are all on county roads, but there was not a connector so we created a bridge so that the whole loop connects." Due to the popularity of side-by-sides, the bridge was designed to accommodate the bigger vehicles and is wide enough for 64-inch wide vehicles. The CLT has yet to have all its signage in place but that is being worked on, Guzman said. When asked what the big attraction to the CLT is, Guzman responded, "Now there's more opportunities for riders to enjoy the beauty of Idaho and Wyoming. This trail system is a huge start and would not be possible without the collaboration of the commissioners and all supporting organizations. When people go out to ride the trail, they can ride a portion of it or they can ride the whole thing. They can go camping; biking, hiking, snow- mobiling, or they can do whatever they want." It will take some planning to make sure you don't run out of fuel along the route but there are towns with services spread out along the way. Information: Caribou Trail Loop www.facebook.com/Caribou-Trail-Loop-2000276770220030 GWT National Facebook: www.facebook.com/greatwesterntrail IF

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