Friends of Marshall Mountain Announces New Freestyle Rail Park at Marshall Mountain Park

Friends of Marshall Mountain is excited to announce the Marshall Mountain Rail Garden, a free ski and snowboarding terrain park that will be located at the base area of Missoula County's Marshall Mountain Park.

Missoula MT – Friends of Marshall Mountain is excited to announce the Marshall Mountain Rail Garden, a free ski and snowboarding terrain park that will be located at the base area of Missoula County's Marshall Mountain Park.

The park is made possible thanks to a private-public partnership, starting with a $25,000 donation from Missoula real estate brokerage Engel & Völkers Western Frontier to Friends of Marshall Mountain. Initial funding will support construction of the Rail Garden including perimeter fencing, rail features, signage, maintenance tools, and insurance.

Local nonprofit, Girls on Shred, is serving as the project’s private fundraising and site management partner and will lead efforts to secure further donations. Additional contributions will help the Rail Garden grow throughout the season and support future winter development amenities. Engel & Völkers will additionally match all funds that Girls on Shred raises up to an additional $25,000.

“We’re proud to support this exciting new park at Marshall Mountain,” said Dawn Maddux, owner of Engel & Völkers Western Frontier. “This donation reflects our deep connection to the Missoula community and our commitment to Marshall becoming a vibrant public park. As a company with roots in Germany and a long history of supporting winter sports, this project just felt like the perfect fit.”

According to Marshall Mountain Park Ranger Silas Phillips, the rail garden is on track for completion within the upcoming winter season.

"We’ve been working closely with the winter sports community, Girls on Shred, and Friends of Marshall Mountain to get to this point, and we are thrilled to announce the project is happening." Phillips said. "Public-private partnerships have been a hallmark of the park's success since it came into County ownership, helping raise funds to develop park amenities outside of property tax dollars."

The Marshall Mountain Rail Garden will be located on a portion of the old bunny slope at the park. It will consist of small, medium and large lines with professionally constructed and maintained features for people of all ages and abilities.

“For the past few winters, kids and young adults have organically built their own freestyle features at the base of Marshall,” said Jeff Crouch, Co-Chair of Friends of Marshall Mountain. “The County recognized the demand for this kind of winter recreation and suggested we formalize the activity in a way that aligns with the long-term vision of the Marshall Mountain Park Master Plan.”

This project brings legitimate freestyle ski and snowboard features back to Marshall and cracks the door open for future winter developments. The Marshall Mountain Park Master Plan includes a potential future addition of a "learn to ski" area including snow making and either a rope-tow or magic carpet. Funds raised will first go towards the completion of the Rail Garden, any remaining funding as part of this effort will go towards initial feasibility studies and design of future winter amenities.

Donations can be made through Girls on Shred online at (https://www.girlsonshred.com/ donate), with Marshall Mountain Rail Garden included in the note section of the donation form.