Who Keeps Bigfork's Riverfront Open? Sliter Park, the Swan River Trail, and a Dam Up for Sale
"CFBB is extremely proud to take over this lease that means so much to the community," Megan Shoultz wrote this summer. She is president of the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork, and the lease she meant covers Sliter Park.
The lease runs for one year, starting Aug. 1, and renews annually. The landlord is PacifiCorp, the utility that owns the Bigfork dam. PacifiCorp is selling the dam, and the land under Sliter Park and parts of the Swan River Nature Trail go with it. Bigfork's riverfront looks like a town park and gets used like one. Legally, it is utility land, open to the public because of a federal hydropower license and a small nonprofit willing to sign a lease. Both of those arrangements are being tested this fall.
For 45 years, Flathead County Parks and Recreation leased Sliter Park from PacifiCorp and ran it as a county park. In April, the county commissioners voted to drop it. The money involved was small. Parks and Weeds Director Chris Maestas said the park cost the county about $4,000 a year to maintain. Staffing was his main concern: the park took 200 to 250 hours of county labor each summer, plus ongoing vandalism costs. The county manages more than 70 parks, and use has grown across the system.
The foundation was already helping. When the county first considered stepping away in 2013, CFBB began splitting maintenance costs, and it spent about $10,000 on the park during the 2025 season. Taking the whole lease nearly doubles the foundation's financial commitment to Sliter Park. It was reluctant to do that as a small nonprofit and signed when no one else stepped forward. It also spent months finding insurance coverage.
Bigfork is unincorporated, so there is no city government to take a park like this. The Flathead Beacon described volunteer groups doing work a municipality would normally handle, from park and trail support to clearing snow off downtown sidewalks. Chamber President Rebekah King said residents worry about rapid change and the lack of a local voice. The same pattern appeared in May, when six bear-resistant trash cans went in downtown, with a seventh planned for Sliter Park. The project came from CFBB, Swan Valley Connections, and People and Carnivores.
The lease settles who mows the grass. Who owns the ground is a separate question.
The Bigfork Hydroelectric Project was built in 1900 by Lafayette Tinkel. He and his crew dug a canal by hand to carry Swan River water to a wooden flume and a ditch leading to a powerhouse more than a mile away. By 1902 it was producing electricity, a year after Bigfork was founded. Electric Avenue takes its name from the dam and the power lines that once ran above it.
PacifiCorp has owned the dam since 1954 and has held a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for it since 1976. The current license expires in July 2053. The company announced the sale in June. Its main reason was stricter federal dam safety criteria that would require significant investment. The dam is a small run-of-river project and no longer supplies power to Bigfork.
Offers were due Sept. 4. On Sept. 23, the Daily Inter Lake reported that PacifiCorp had received multiple proposals. The company did not say how many or name any bidders. It describes the sale as a private business decision that is not open to public comment. Communications Specialist Drew Marine described the timeline:
"We expect to take some time to consider the proposals, then enter into discussions with one or multiple parties. The final outcome may not be known until early 2027."
The license is what matters for the park and the trail. Under its FERC license, PacifiCorp must provide access to public waterways and manage public recreation sites, and the company says those requirements would stay in place under a new operator. Every proposal under review involves taking over the existing license and running the dam. Marine said PacifiCorp hopes the new owner will keep operating the project "as it does today, including maintaining existing public recreation access and opportunities for the community."
PacifiCorp has also said what happens if no one takes the license: it would pursue decommissioning and possible removal of the dam. That possibility worried CFBB and the Bigfork Community Alliance. Their concerns included the Whitewater Festival, Sliter Park, the Swan River Nature Trail, and the chance the land could be developed.
So the public status of the park and trail depends on the dam continuing to operate. The recreation requirements come from the federal license, and the license comes with the dam. CFBB's one-year lease keeps Sliter Park running under whoever owns the land.
The Bigfork Chamber's visitor guide describes the Swan River Nature Trail as the old River Road. The first mile runs along the Wild Mile from downtown, and the second follows a quieter stretch of river. PacifiCorp's recreation page lists the basics:
PacifiCorp gives the length as about 2.5 miles. The Chamber says two. Two notes on PacifiCorp's page affect a regular walk. Authorized vehicles use the trail from time to time for maintenance and to reach the hydro facilities. A "Pardon Our Dust" notice also warns of occasional restrictions and closures during project improvements. The page is undated and currently lists the trail as open, so treat that as the posted status, not a daily report. Questions go to [email protected].
CFBB covers the routine care. It handles trash removal, signs, trail-upkeep support, and dog-waste stations, working with partners including PacifiCorp.
Over the past year, this stretch of river hosted Bigfork's two best-known riverfront events. The 51st Bigfork Whitewater Festival ran May 23 and 24 on the Class IV Wild Mile, with kayak, raft, and SUP races, and spectators watched free from the trail. The festival benefits Montana Kayak Academy. Executive Director David Meyers called it a celebration of river culture and community as well as a race. The Riverbend Concert Series listed ten Sunday shows at Sliter Park from July 5 through Sept. 6. The final date was John Dunnigan's show, moved from June 28. Shoultz said CFBB taking the lease let the concert series finish the second half of its season.
After the concert stage shuts down for the season, Bigfork's fall events move a few blocks over, and many depend on the same volunteer networks.
CFBB's biggest annual fundraiser, the Garden Bar Auction, was scheduled for Sept. 3. Proceeds go to Sliter Park, the Swan River Nature Trail, and downtown public spaces.
The first date is PacifiCorp's decision on the dam, which the company says may not come until early 2027. A buyer who takes the FERC license also takes on the public-access requirements tied to it. The second date is the renewal of CFBB's Sliter Park lease, a one-year agreement that began Aug. 1, 2026. Until then, the trail is open from the end of Grand Avenue to Swan River Road, subject to the closure notices on PacifiCorp's page.
Whoever buys the dam also takes on responsibilities for the riverfront. That can matter for anyone who owns near downtown Bigfork or walks the Wild Mile regularly. If you're weighing a home within walking distance of Sliter Park or the Grand Avenue trailhead, Dalon Pobran can go over the local details with you and help you keep track of the sale as it moves toward a decision. Let's Connect.
Whether you are a first-time buyer, a seasoned investor, or somewhere in between, I bring the Flathead Lake Area market knowledge and personal attention that make all the difference.
