River Mountain trail plan gets OK

Brent Thompson was one of the Boulder City residents most opposed to an 800-acre lease that gave the MGM Grand hotel-casino the go-ahead to build two golf courses near the foothills of the River Mountains.

The mountain land just north of Boulder City meant something special to Thompson, and he didn't want to see a golf course rolled out on top of it.

"He was very upset about losing the trails that were in the area because he and his son had personally built some of them," Mayor Bob Ferraro said. "He had lost something that he had spent a lot of time on."

Instead of lamenting his loss when the council approved the lease in August, Thompson set out to work with the city and the MGM to build a new set of trails that could replace what he and other mountain bikers had lost.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Thompson's work paid off as the council unanimously approved amending the city's trail plan to include the new River Mountain trail system.

The new trails will be built east of the old trails and will overlook Lake Mead.

"These trails are actually going to be better than the old ones, and with the lake view they are just beautiful," Thompson said. "The old trails were in a remote area, and that's why the MGM wanted to put the golf course there, but the new trails will be easily accessible."

Access, planned for just off Canyon Road, will come from a trailhead complete with parking and restrooms.

The new trails will be built utilizing $50,000 given to the project by the MGM and matching funds from a federal gas tax bill, Thompson said.

"Under federal bill TA-21, funding is available for single-track trails that are used by nonmotor vehicles," Thompson said. "The bill allows that the trails cost $2 a foot and for every 30 cents worth of trail that is built, the government will kick in 70 cents. That funding will go toward the trailhead and the restrooms."

The trails will be built in three phases over the next three years, with the easiest difficulty level being built first.

With the golf courses and the new trails, Thompson says the city is getting two top attractions.

"The trails will not only be a major attraction for Boulder City, but people visiting in Las Vegas will use them, too," Thompson said.

Ferraro said the loss of the trails was one of the biggest concerns when the golf courses were approved.

"This is a great example of someone putting in the time and effort to work within the system to get something done," he said.

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