Category Overview
State Parks grants help preserve and develop our state’s best outdoor recreation areas by funding new campgrounds and amenities to increase the capacity of our parks, creating new parks, improving park resources, and protecting historical areas. These grants help our state continue to develop our world-class parks system to share our cultural heritage and natural treasures with all of its visitors.
Project Highlights
State Parks will use this grant to design and renovate a 975-foot historic trestle that connects two portions of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail separated by a large valley, State Route 270, Hangman Creek, and the town of Tekoa. State Parks will remove the existing ties, lay a concrete deck, add safety railing, and make minor structural repairs. State Parks also will renovate a small portion of the trail surface to smooth out the approaches to the newly renovate trestle. Finally, State Parks will install interpretive and directional signs. Completing this project will fill a missing link that connects about 5.5 miles of trail east of the trestle to 28.5 miles of trail west of the trestle, resulting in a contiguous 34-mile trail experience stretching from Malden to the Idaho border. Repairing, preserving, and opening the historic Tekoa trestle will eliminate three major physical barriers, allowing trail users to easily cross above the state highway, Hangman Creek, and the 150-foot-deep valley below. It also will open up stunning views to the surrounding landscape and boost the Tekoa economy. State Parks will contribute $83,775 in donations of cash.