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Grand Teton National Park is revamping Taggart Lake trail, its most popular year-round route that supports backcountry skiing in the winter and summer hikes.
It aims to make the route, which meanders about four miles in the shade of aspen and fir to and from an alpine lake, more accessible for people like Jacksonite Joe Stone.
In 2010, Stone was descending a mountain with a glider, a sport known as speed flying, when an accident left him unable to walk. He now uses a three-wheeled bike to access trails, but early on was often stopped by rangers or officers who told him bikes weren’t allowed.
Now, fifteen years later, those folks are familiar with accessibility laws, and he is rarely stopped.
“Now we have something as big as Taggart Lake that’s going much further than the majority of trails that I’m aware of,” he said, “if not all the trails that I’m aware of in national parks.”
Stone co-leads Dovetail Trail Consulting, a business that guides land agencies and other trail organizations on how to make trails more accessible for people with disabilities.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 70 million people in the United States reported having a disability in 2022. That’s about one in every four people.
“We’re trying to work with the trails that already exist or new trails being built to make them work for everyone,” he said.
At Taggart, that means breaking and moving rock to widen trails and bridges on the popular route that sees about 300,000 visitors annually, the majority first-time visitors to the park.
It’s one of several upcoming projects, including an expanded parking lot, redesigned trailhead and new viewpoints, expected to cost the park, but mostly the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, nearly $15 million.
Leslie Mattson leads the supporting nonprofit. It needs to raise nearly $10 million out of the $15 million needed for the Taggart projects. As of now, they’re still a couple of million short.
“We’re just delighted to get this underway and start to see real change here at Taggart Lake and hopefully in two years we’ll do a ribbon cutting here,” Mattson said.
