Idaho Trails Association Launches Online Auction to Fund Summer Trail Projects

Barbara Sammut, North Idaho coordinator for the Idaho Trails Association, is pointing Kootenai County bidders toward the Coeur d'Alene packages in this year's "Pack Your Summer" auction, which runs through April 9 and will fund summer trail crews across the Panhandle.

"This auction is a fun and impactful way for our community to come together and we have some exciting Coeur d'Alene packages," Sammut said. "Every bid helps ensure Idaho's trails remain a place for connection and stewardship for generations to come."

The annual online fundraiser, which opened April 1, features outdoor adventures, lodging packages, gear, and locally sourced goods. Proceeds cover the operational backbone of ITA's volunteer model: trail tools, safety equipment, crew leader training, and the transportation costs that get workers to remote trailheads across North Idaho's national forest terrain.

In 2025, ITA volunteers logged 16,614 hours across 98 projects statewide, clearing more than 400 miles of trail and pulling 5,601 logs from access routes. In the Panhandle alone, 27 projects were completed, a 50 percent increase over 2024, including maintenance on English Point Trail and Coeur d'Alene River National Recreation Trail No. 20 in Shoshone County. For 2026, ITA has mapped out more than 100 volunteer projects statewide, with roughly two dozen concentrated in the Panhandle.

The push comes as Forest Service personnel cuts have narrowed the federal agency's capacity to keep pace with maintenance backlogs. Idaho has roughly 10,000 miles of non-motorized trail, but only about 30 percent are maintained to standard. Without volunteer crews filling the gap, deteriorated trail sections face permanent closure.

That calculus lands directly on the outdoor economy. Outfitters, gear shops, restaurants, and lodging operators along the Coeur d'Alene and Silver Valley corridors depend on accessible trailheads to drive visitor traffic. Tubbs Hill and McEuen Park sustain steady local use year-round; it is the backcountry routes in the Coeur d'Alene Ranger District that pull regional visitors who fill hotel rooms and restaurant seats across Kootenai County.

ITA is also expanding its youth program to six to eight teen volunteer opportunities in 2026, building on a "Women in the Wild" series that became the most-requested project type of the 2025 season. Bidding closes April 9 through the ITA online auction platform.