Truckee residents have eagerly awaited the expansion of the Legacy Trail to Glenshire since the adoption of the updated Truckee Trails and Bikeways Master plan in 2012. On Aug. 8, the connection from Truckee River Regional Park to Glenshire, known as Phase 3B, officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Phases 1 and 2 were completed in 2009, running approximately 3 miles.
More than a hundred community members came to the trailhead for the official opening ceremony, and dozens of residents and families celebrated by riding the trail in its entirety. Those who had a hand in making the trail happen spoke at the event and discussed the trail’s history, as well as two more phases in the works that will eventually connect Glenshire to Donner Memorial State Park.
The Legacy Trail was originally envisioned as a project of the Truckee Noon Rotary, which decided in 1997 to support “a long-term comprehensive project that would leave a legacy for future generations of Truckee citizens,” according to Lisa Wallace, executive director of the Truckee River Watershed Council. Out of that, the Our Truckee River Legacy Trail Foundation was formed.
The mission of the organization is: “The Truckee River is the heart of our town. It has supported and enhanced our town throughout Truckee’s existence. Our gift to future generations and ourselves will be to honor The River by making it accessible while preserving and protecting it. The River will entice us to walk beside it; hear its rushing and stillness; gaze upon it from parks and along its banks. It is our obligation to do this. It is Our Truckee River Legacy.”
As some remember Frank Bulkley, a past president the of Rotary Club of Truckee who was a vocal proponent of the project, saying: “It took us 100 years to mess up the Truckee River, so it’s OK if it takes us 100 years to fix it.”
