BEAR Meadows

The Bear Meadows area provides additional open space for activities and outdoor recreation activities, such as youth sports field area, picnic shelters, tot park playground, physical fitness exercise stations, amphitheater stage area, restrooms, and additional parking. The Bear Meadows will also make it possible to hold larger existing and future concerts, festivals, and special events. Bear Meadows will not be allocated to any specific event or sport but will be configurable to a variety of needs and demands of the community. Make sure to reserve your spot by calling (307) 789 - 1770. 

BEAR Paw Trailhead

The Bear Paw Trailhead is located off Bear River Drive on the east end of Evanston, across from Hamblin City Park. The Bear Paw Trailhead facilities include the Bear Paw picnic shelter, a river access ramp to the Bear River Whitewater Park for kayaking, rafting, and tubing and trail access to the Bear River Greenway main trail system located across Debbie's Bridge. There is also a viewing area of the Bear Paw rapid under Debbie's Bridge and a parking area with a cascading water feature and restrooms.

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BEAR  Tales Fire Circle

The "Bear Tales" Fire Circle was built by the Evanston Rotary Club and dedicated in September of 2005 as a Rotary International Centennial Service Project, to celebrate 100 years of Rotary's "Service Above Self" from 1995 to 2005. The Fire Circle is located on the Bear River Greenway main trail between the Debbie's Bridge access to the Bear Paw Trailhead and Red Bridge. It serves as an outdoor classroom and amphitheater with a fire pit. The Fire Circle is available for private and public use by school groups, service groups, scout groups, performing arts groups, and for community events. To reserve the "Bear Tales" Fire Circle call the Evanston Recreation Center at 307-789-1770.
Fee: $15 per group  

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Ice Ponds

Icing Station
From about 1897 through the 1920s, a distinctive feature of the Evanston landscape was the icing station. It was created as a joint venture between the Union Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Fruit Express Company of California. By 1914, the icing station included 2 large ponds and 9 wooden ice houses located along the railroad tracks.

Station Operations
Many of the icing station's workers were single men from Greece and Turkey who lived in small shacks that surrounded the ice ponds. These workers harvested ice in the winter and stored it in the ice houses.

When produce cars arrived at the station, ice blocks were delivered via conveyor to a long shed next to the railroad tracks. Men used tongs to carry and drop blocks of ice into hatches at either end of the produce cars. By the early 1920s, faster trains and electric refrigeration made the icing station obsolete. Restoration
Since the ice ponds were restored and refilled, they are used as a community gathering place for fishing, canoeing, and ice skating. For more information on the ice ponds, please contact the Evanston Parks and Recreation Department / District at 307-789-1770.

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Memorial Tree Grove 

Purpose
The Memorial Tree Grove has been developed to memorialize individuals who have enjoyed, been active, or had an interest in the areas of outdoor recreation, the BEAR Project, and the Evanston community. Names are accepted year-round to be engraved on a granite stone marker in the grove, which is located along the banks of the Bear River and adjacent to the BEAR community center pavilion and ice ponds.
 

Submitting Names
Families and friends of deceased individuals may memorialize their loved ones in the grove. A one-time fee of $350 per individual contributes to:

• Engraving the name on a granite stone marker in the tree grove

• Future improvements to the BEAR Project and Bear River Greenway

• Maintenance of the tree grove for all time

Names are engraved once per year and are recognized during a recognition ceremony scheduled for the 2nd Saturday in September of each year. The deadline for adding names to the Memorial Tree Grove is August 1st of each year.
 

For More Information
For general information about the Memorial Tree Grove or to submit a name to be memorialized, please contact either Marilee Jackson at 307-789-1770.

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Trails

Main Paved Trail Mileage
The mileage for the Bear River Greenway's main paved trail is as follows.

 

Trail Sections

Bear River Drive entryway to the end of Bear River State Park - 2.3 miles

Bear River Drive entryway to the Interstate 80 overpass - 1.0 miles

Ice pond parking lot to the end of the Bear River State Park - 2.0 miles

Interstate 80 overpass to the end of Bear River State Park - 1.3 miles

Please Note: 1/4 mile markers are posted alongside the main trail.