Just as the Missouri River provides the setting for Great Falls, the River's Edge Trail draws people to the river.

Conceptualized in community brainstorming sessions in the late 1980s, the trail was begun in 1990.

Thanks to millions of dollars in donations and donated materials, as well as countless volunteer hours, River's Edge Trail hugs the Mighty Missouri for a total of 30 miles on both sides of the river, with 13 miles paved and wheelchair-accessible.

A total of 17 miles on the North Shore and South Shore are singletrack dirt trails that make for great day hikes and challenging mountain biking for beginning to advanced riders.

"It's an absolutely wonderful addition to Great Falls," says Channing Hartelius, an Attorney and Owner of the Charlie Russell Manor bed and breakfast.

He walks on the trail about once a week and says, "I just bought a bike, so I should be getting that out on the trail."

Paved trail areas draw walkers, runners, roller-skaters and bicyclists.

The urban part of the trail allows for many easy access points. Several trailheads provide access to the singletrack sections of River's Edge Trail where hikers and mountain bikers navigate meadows and coulees overlooking the Missouri River canyon.

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River-valley breezes swirl along the trail's virgin prairie just minutes from the city limits.

The trail offers "wonderful views of the river," Hartelius says. "I'm a Lewis & Clark buff so when you go way back on the trail, you can envision what people saw" 200 years ago when the expedition first reached this area.

He says guests at the bed and breakfast commonly are recreation-oriented and "always asking for 'someplace we can walk or bike.'"

Hartelius touts River's Edge Trail: "It's right along the river, it's paved and it has benches along the way."

An effort to extend River's Edge Trail on an unused rail line from Great Falls to Helena, which would add about 100 miles to the trail, is an idea awaiting decisions by the BNSF Railroad.

The fact the River's Edge Trail was built almost entirely by donations without relying on local taxes is an added benefit for Great Falls, he says.