Valley Spur, a much-loved trail system in Alger County, is getting a much-needed shot in the arm. The trails, which are a frequent visit for ski, snowshoe and mountain bike enthusiasts, recently received a $99,950 USDA Rural Development Small Business Grant.

“We have been grooming the trails at Valley Spur since 2007, our equipment has just been getting older and older and these wet winters we have been experiencing have just trashed them,” Denise Gerth, NTN US Forest liaison for Valley Spur said. “They just aren’t made to keep up with heavy wet snow.”

Along with the grant and numerous donations from community members, they’ll be able to upgrade their equipment, and as a direct result keep the trails open. According to the group’s Facebook post, they plan on purchasing a Kubota Tractor with a brush mower attachment, tracks for the tractor and a Mueller Snow Tiller.

“(We were) awarded the entire amount that we applied for, that pushed us over the top from good used equipment to new equipment, which we really need,” Gerth said. “We are pretty excited about it all. We have a big following, our donations came from as far away as Montana and Florida.”

For Gerth, seeing the community step up with donations and help in getting the grant was great to see.

“It’s the frosting on the cake from all the support we’ve received so far,” she said. “Valley Spur is muchloved. We have a smaller system, but it is 27 miles of groomed trails. We have people from all over that come and we are just thrilled with all the support and the grant and without it, we couldn’t have kept going. We can continue to survive and keep providing quality groomed trails.”