The Winter Sports Center has become an amenity that is used in all seasons at Pine Street Woods near Sandpoint.
The project was developed as a part of the City of Sandpoint’s Community Transformation Grant

The Winter Sports Center opened about five years ago. The facility was the result of a unique partnership between Kaniksu Land Trust, Sandpoint Nordic Club, and the City of Sandpoint and was funded through a Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health grant to the city. The center was created as a place to store cross country ski equipment and snowshoes for the public to use at Pine Street Woods, a 180-acre forest near Sandpoint opened to the public by the Kaniksu Land Trust.

The city received a Community Transformation Grant from the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health in 2017. One of the goals of that multiyear grant was to create and catalyze positive changes in a community that would last for generations. The Winter Sports Center project is the shining example of how multiyear grants and strong partnerships greatly impact communities.

The Winter Sports Center has become much more than just a building to store and rent equipment over the past five or so years since it debuted. With an extensive trail network used for Nordic skiing, hiking, biking and other activities, the Winter Sports Center has become the community hub at Pine Street Woods.

Children store their nordic ski gear at Pine Street Woods. (Photo courtesy of Woods Wheatcroft)

“It is such a community resource,” said Ali Schulz, a Sandpoint resident who estimates that she, her husband and two children visit Pine Street Woods two or three times per day for different outdoor activities. “I don’t see the impact of that center going away. If anything, it’s only going to grow.”

PROMOTING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Katie Egland Cox is the executive director of the Kaniksu Land Trust, a 501c3 nonprofit that focuses on land protection and community engagement programs. She recalls why her organization was interested in developing a Winter Sports Center at Pine Street Woods.

“One of the most compelling reasons why we chose to go after the funding and and create that facility was because we had seen in surveys of youth in our community showed that almost 50% of them said that they did not get outside in a meaningful way in the previous winter,” she said. “That was the impetus for the building. If kids were able to get up to Pine Street Woods, we had the ability to put on programs that would get them outside. Then maybe, we would watch that statistic change in person. And that’s what we’ve really seen happen.”

Kids do make their way to Pine Street Woods. Thanks to partnership between the Nordic Club and school districts, more than 850 youth participated in clinics last winter. Cox estimates there are four to six classes per week at the center. Offering the clinics via the school district allows children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate. She said it isn’t uncommon to see kids ask their parents to return with them on weekends.

“We see that all the time,” she said.

It’s no longer just for winter sports, either. Cycling groups, arts, crafts and music groups take advantage of the facility in the spring, summer and fall. Lectures and board meetings have happened in the space.

ACCESS TO THE OUTDOORS

Schulz, who works as a nurse at Bonner General, said one reason Pine Street Woods is such an attraction is the accessibility. It’s located about four miles and less than 15 minutes from the heart of Downtown Sandpoint.

Visitors to Pine Street Woods can learn while enjoying the outdoors.

“The trails are accessible, not only from an access standpoint, but they are trails where just about everyone can walk on,” she said. “There are school groups, moms’ group walks twice a week, nature walks, and health walks happening all the time. The building is really a showcase spot, and people value what it’s become.”

Jason Welker, the Community Planning and Development Director for the City of Sandpoint, said all of Pine Street Woods is amazing. He is an avid cyclist who rides there a few times a week, then also takes his family and dog on regular basis. Welker said Pine Street Woods adds to the quality of life for locals and attracts out-of-town visitors that boost the local economy.

“You get the feeling you’re in a really nice parkland, but it’s free and feels more like Forest Service land,” Welker said. “But everywhere you look there’s interpretive signs telling you what tree species you’re looking at. There is educational signage around the property telling people about sustainable forestry practices. The whole property is an education center, not just the outdoor rec center, but the whole 180 acres.”

Children enjoy the Nordic ski trails at Pine Street Woods. (Photo courtesy of Woods Wheatcroft)

GALVANIZING SUPPORT

The Winter Sports Center has catalyzed the community as well. Membership in ski teams and bike clubs have soared this its opening. Cox said donations are up to the organizations associated with the center. Some of those funds were a part of the $2.1 million used to purchase the historic sled hill adjacent to Pine Street Woods that could have been developed.

“When the sled hill went up for sale, everyone held their breath,” Schulz said. “We’re so happy the land trust was able to pull through and purchase it. It’s very popular, and not just for kids sledding in the winter. There are people from our neighborhood who walk up and down it at every sunrise and sunset, and they are in their 70s.”

For Cox, the purchase of the sled hill and having the Winter Sports Center help define the area.

“It’s really become a space that I think symbolizes the community and its value of nature and spending time outside,” she said. “It’s become the centerpiece building for the community up in the forest. It’s the best investment that could have been made in our community in terms of whole health for our youth and adults.”