ICORE receives Gogebic Range Health Foundation grant

January 13, 2020

Hurley, WI – Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts (ICORE) has received a $20,000 grant from the Gogebic Range Health Foundation.  ICORE President Mike Ondresky said the funds will be used for improvements to the Hurley Trailhead on Highway 51, and to help create a new walking and biking trail connecting Montreal to Hurley.

“We are very grateful to the Gogebic Range Health Foundation for supporting this project.  The funds will allow major improvements to the Hurley Trailhead this year, and help us purchase the railroad grade between Hurley and Montreal for a future trail.”

ICORE and the City of Hurley have been working to develop the Trailhead since the land was acquired in 2017.  Improvements have included paving the trail from Highway 51 to the beginning of the Iron Belle Trail, installing benches and bike racks, seeding grass and mowing, a new foot trail down to the Montreal River, garbage cleanup, and planting of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers.  All work at the Trailhead follows a plan developed during community meetings in 2016. The Foundation grant will allow several improvements in 2020, including a new gravel parking area for 13 cars, solar lighting, a bike maintenance station, and a dog waste station. 

Candy Pogliano, Executive Director for the Gogebic Range Health Foundation, praised the ICORE project.  “The mission of the Health Foundation is to promote the health of the Gogebic Range community, and the focus of the 2019 funding cycle was to enhance opportunities to walk and bike in the Gogebic Range communities.  Improving the Hurley Trailhead will provide greater access to the seven-mile Iron Belle Trail between Ironwood and Bessemer, and we look forward to future connections to Montreal and Ramsay.”

More information on ICORE is available at www.ironcountyoutdoors.org.