Look left as you drive out of Bridger Canyon and you’ll see a mountain shaped like a horse drinking from a creek. When the owners called us and said they wanted to donate this property, we knew we had an opportunity to create something special. Adjacent to land owned by the United States Forest Service and US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), with an ascent that offers spectacular views in four directions, the parcel was perfectly positioned for a new trail. GVLT helped facilitate the donation of the land to USFWS and raised money from the community to create two routes the top and install the locally-designed Kevin Mundy Memorial Bridge, named for a local ski patroller.

All told, it took GVLT and our partners eight years to permit, design, fund, and construct the Drinking Horse Mountain trail, but it was well worth the wait. Families with young children enjoy the short trek to the bright-orange bridge. Designed with seating so it can serve as an outdoor classroom, the structure makes the perfect creek-side picnic spot. Stronger hikers can continue up the trail — 700 vertical feet up, to be exact — for a show-stopping view into Bridger Canyon and back across the valley.