HELENA — The Beattie Street Trailhead is now open, with some new features.
Features include an expanded parking lot with 18 spaces, restrooms, picnic tables, and an information kiosk. MTN spoke with some residents as they visited the trailhead for the first time in almost a year.
"It's a great help to the community because so many people hiked up here and there was hardly any parking. I'm very impressed," says Berta Mason, a hiker at the trailhead.
"I think it's great. Great for the community,” says Michael Spotorno, a Helena resident at the trailhead. “This is, obviously, a very popular trailhead. So, anything we could do to benefit the neighbors here, obviously, in this part of town and in the people that use this trail system."
Not everyone wanted the trailhead redesigned. Back in April 2020, Beattie Street residents sought to block the expansion project citing it was breaking a previous land agreement with the City of Helena.
"I know that a big parking lot to this neighborhood, it can be unfortunate for homeowners in this area,” says Britany Hoover, a hiker at the trailhead. “But, I think they did a really good job making it a beautiful area. It's not screaming 'ugly parking lot trailhead,'” laughs Hoover.
In all, this project took about a year and cost almost half a million dollars.
According to the City of Helena, the Beattie St. Trailhead is the second most used trailhead in the City of Helena open lands system.
