In 2017 a group of community members from Ronald, Roslyn and Cle Elum came to gather to pursue the goal of creating a well-designed inter-connected regional trail system in the Cle Elum Ridge area. This trail system would need to accommodate increasing numbers of visitors while simultaneously absorbing their impacts, directing visitors away from wildlife habitat and sensitive areas, keeping ongoing maintenance costs low, and connecting the downtown centers with nearby public lands.
KPRD1 served as the legal and fiscal sponsor for the Towns to Teanaway effort from 2017-2021. The commissioners worked closely with landowners to pursue grants, enabling the hiring of landscape architects to aid in the design process. A year-long public input process was also undertaken by the commissioners to refine the design, culminating in the Master Plan Trail. As the fiscal sponsor, KPRD1 further enabled the Towns To Teanaway Implementation Group to seek other grant sources and handle funds necessary to build the first system trails. In the fall of 2021, Towns to Teanaway transferred legal and fiscal sponsorship to Kittitas County Public Works, utilizing the department’s assistance with permitting and accounting services.