Hikers, bikers and horse riders enjoy more than 100 km of trails that radiate from the lodge.

Galena Lodge was purchased by the Blaine County Recreation District in 1994 following a fund-raising effort that collected $525,000. (Express photos by Charmaine McCann)

A modern eye will scan over rustic Galena Lodge during the next few months.

No one wants to make any major changes that would affect how the public uses the lodge, said Blaine County Recreation District director Mary Austin Crofts.

However, there is a dire need for improvements that will make the lodge north of Ketchum run more smoothly and cheaply, Crofts said.

This look is a timely one, inspired by necessity.

By a year from this coming December, the lodge’s owners, the Blaine County Recreation District, must submit a new master plan for the operation to the Forest Service.

Galena Lodge and its more than 100 km of hiking, biking and horse riding trails sits on Forest Service land. It is operated through a special use permit granted in 1994.

That five-year permit expires in December 1999, and the Forest Service requires an updated master plan before renewal.

Crofts named locating proximate employee housing and alternative sources for power as two high-priority projects.

The old generator is the only source of power for Galena Lodge—a very expensive source. (Express photos by Charmaine McCann)

Hydropower from nearby Titus Creek or solar energy could power the lodge in a more money-wise way than the generator used now.

The generator seems to eat money, and "it constantly breaks down," Crofts said.

Bunk houses for employees on the other side of State Highway 75 could make life easier and more attractive for Galena’s winter employees, who often must drive the 25-mile icy highway to and from work.

In the summertime, the bunk houses could be used by the Stanley-based Mystic Saddle Ranch horseback outfitters at their Galena Stage Stop.

For now, Crofts will look at various sites and ways to pursue permission from the Forest Service, which typically doesn’t encourage onsite housing, she said.

Securing the approvals and the funds to make these two projects happen will challenge the rec district.

"We might have a lot of time and a lot of energy," Crofts said, "but we might not have the money."

Crofts said building more money-generating yurts would be one way to loosen the tight dollar situation.

Improving trails, rest rooms, water availability to fight fires, and storage space for equipment are also on the Galena master plan list.