Grant funds new skatepark in Columbia Falls

A skateboard park is officially coming to Columbia Falls.

The city recently learned it received a $330,000 Land, Water and Conservation grant that will go toward a new skatepark at Fenholt Park.

In addition, the Church Women United have donated $50,000 toward a bathroom at the park. That funding came from the recent sale of the Klothes Kloset, which the organization owned for years.

The park will be located west of the baseball fields, tucked into a grove of trees along the slope. Skateboarders in cooperation with the city have already done initial clearing of the site.

Formed in 2021, the Bad Rock Skate Park Association, a local group of boarders and their families, has already raised about $400,000 toward the project.

The city began seeking bids for the skatepark earlier this month. Bids are due by Aug. 15.