Local Business Spotlight: Creative Trails, LLC

Photo: Creative Trails, LLC at Work – photo: Bob Radke

PARK CITY, Utah — Creative Trails, LLC owner and founder Bob Radke has decades of experience building trails in Park City and the Wasatch Back. Before launching Creative Trails, LLC in 2018, Radke spent 17 years crafting trails for the Snyderville Basin Recreation Trails Department. While working for Snyderville, in 2008, Radke founded Sagebrush Trails as a part-time pursuit.

Before launching Creative Trails, LLC, Radke built dozens of now well-used and loved trails in the Wasatch Back, including the High Star Ranch Trail System (Kamas), the Wild Ruffy Trail at Victory Ranch (Kamas), and the DuBois Trail (Park City).

Radke, like many Parkites, moved to the area for the snow. “I moved to Park City in 1988 to work in the ski industry. After 20 years of the ski industry, I wanted to do something different,” he explains. “I inadvertently fell into the trails world while looking for another job. I worked for Mountain Trails Foundation and helped another trail-building company for a couple of years, starting in 2001. Then I worked at Snyderville Basin Recreation in the Trails Department for 17 years and then started Creative Trails, LLC.”

In the four years since the inception of Creative Trails, LLC, the company has already developed extensive trails in Park City and the surrounding areas. Some of the recent projects include The Neighborhood Gravel Path in Ranch Place and the Tuhaye Reroute plus Tuhaye Multi-use and Flow Trails in Hideout.

The company is presently working on several significant and long-term developments. “We are currently adding more trails to the Slate Creek area in the Uinta Mountains. These will be completed in the early summer of 2023,” Radke says.

Creative Trails, LLC began construction on a massive project, the Mayflower Trails System, in 2020. “The trail project at Mayflower will continue for several years as the plans include many miles of trails and some long-awaited connections from Wasatch County to Park City trails,” Radke explains.

Helping folks get outside builds a happier community, and that is what inspires Radke to continue building trails. “I think all trails contribute to the health and wealth of any community. The one thing that keeps me motivated to do this is to see people of all types getting outside to recreate, exercise, and have a healthy life. Trails provide an avenue to accomplish this, and it’s FREE!” he exclaims.

The Creative Trails, LLC’s vision is that Park City and Wasatch Back will have plenty of outdoor spaces for the burgeoning population to explore. “Our area continues to grow and will see an increase in population and visitors. To keep people’s experiences on the trails positive, the area will need more trails to spread the use,” Radke explains. “There should be a variety in the flavor and purpose of trails. A homogenous trail system will not satisfy everyone, so we need to keep up with the trends and provide various trail experiences. That is our mission.”

Under Radke’s direction and decades of expertise, Creative Trails, LLC builds quality trails. Yet Radkero is adamant that Creative Trails, LLC staff also deserves accolades.

“I would like to add that building trails is always a team effort. From planning and design to construction, it takes time and effort from a number of people,” he says. “The Team at Creative Trails, LLC is awesome. We all work hard together to put trails on the ground. I could not do this without the staff that I have.”