The Joseph Branch Trail Consortium (JBTC) is working with the City of Wallowa and the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland to collaboratively establish a pocket park trailhead and a 1.08-mile trail section in this beautiful, rural community. The pocket park trailhead will serve both residents and visitors by providing information about the trail, a covered gazebo, ADA-compliant picnic tables and benches, a bicycle parking rack and bicycle maintenance station, and more. Located near a foot bridge over the Wallowa River that leads to the 320-acre Homeland grounds, the trailhead will enhance access to an existing 3-mile hiking trail up Tick Hill, which offers stunning views of the land originally inhabited by the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) People and the town of Wallowa.

JBTC has received several grants to support development of the in-city trail section and pocket park trailhead in Wallowa: A $190,000 Oregon Dept. of Transportation Transportation Growth Management grant is funding refinement planning of the full Minam-to-Wallowa section of the trail, including the 1.08-mile, in-town trail section. Construction of the Wallowa pocket park trailhead (the project’s first trailhead is located in Elgin, Oregon) is funded in part by a grant from Travel Oregon. A grant from the Roundhouse Foundation is funding amenities along the in-town trail section, a grant from the Wallowa Country Cultural Trust Coalition will help fund interpretive signage, and a grant from the Wildhorse Foundation is funding initial construction of the 1.08-mile in-town trail section.

PROJECT OVERVIEW
In partnership with the City of Wallowa, Wallowa County, Oregon Dept. of Transportation, and Wallowa Union Railroad Authority, the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium is developing a Refinement Plan for the 15+ mile Minam-to-Wallowa segment of the Joseph Branch Trail. This segment is part of a longer, proposed 63-mile trail-with-rail linking communities throughout Union and Wallowa Counties. The Refinement Plan will address alignment, safety, concept design features, crossings/connections, materials, adjacent landowner concerns, and be tailored to fit within the existing Wallowa Union Railroad Authority right-of-way and contiguous public lands. The Refinement Plan will also include design work for a pocket park trailhead in the community of Wallowa, with pathway connections to the nearby Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland grounds. This Plan builds on the momentum created with construction of first section of trail and trailhead in Elgin, which is now complete.

BENEFITS
The overarching goal is to develop a 63-mile rail-with-trail corridor between Elgin and Joseph. This project will provide an array of opportunities for people living, working and visiting local communities along the corridor. These benefits include:

• Increased access and mobility choices alternative to Highway 82.

• Additional recreational opportunities and healthy travel options.

• More access to regional arts and cultural heritage programs.  

• Allows the public to connect to the iconic working landscape, magnificent mountain ranges and river valleys, with increased river access.

• Expands tourism for all individuals from inside and outside the region.

• Increased community development by supporting small businesses.

• Strengthens partnerships among the participating agencies and organizations.

LOCATION MAP GRAPHIC (see below)
The study area for this Refinement Plan starts at the eastern Wallowa city limits, connects through downtown Wallowa, and includes the railroad corridor and contiguous public lands for 15+ miles west to the community of Minam (at the confluence of the Wallowa and Minam rivers). The project area also includes a future pocket park trailhead on Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland grounds near the intersection of E. 4th Street & N. Storie Street in the City of Wallowa.