LET 'ER FLY. Eau Claire's 60-acre year-round park, Pinehurst Park, was recently awarded a total $6,000 in grants from Visit Eau Claire. Those dollars will help Pinehurst Park improve its 18-hole disc golf course and continue its Art on Mitts initiative.

In the 13 years since it was founded, Pinehurst Park (3523 Delbert Rd., Eau Claire) has grown from an unused plot into a 60-acre, year-round outdoor recreation destination complete with a skiing and snowboarding hill, disc golf course, bicycling and hiking trails, skating and hockey rinks, snowshoeing trails and more. 

This year, two Visit Eau Claire grants are set to make way for more innovation and restoration at the north side park.

Outdoormore, Inc., the nonprofit attached to Pinehurst, recently announced that a $5,000 grant was allocated toward improving the park’s 18-hole disc golf course, and an additional $1,000 grant was given toward a newly-introduced “Art on Mitts” ski mitten-decorating event.

According to Ben Bonitz, a board member for Outdoormore and director of Pinehurst’s wintertime Snow Park, the disc golf grant will be put toward maintenance and improvement of the existing course.

“We really want to focus on tee pads, signage and overall maintenance on the course,” Bonitz said. “We figured if we can increase those three areas specifically, we can help increase the overall view and tourism of the course in general.”

Earlier this year, OutdoorMore, Inc. held the inaugural "Art on Mitts" fundraiser, calling on local artists to splash some ink on pairs of Kinco gloves. Community members were able to bid on those gloves, with all proceeds benefiting the local nonprofit. (Submitted photo)

Bonitz said the “Art on Mitts” fundraiser began this year, when he had the idea to commission local artists to decorate leather mittens and sell them for a slightly higher price, with proceeds benefiting the park. He said he envisions the $1,000 grant being used toward expanding this idea and opening up the opportunity for people to paint their own mittens at park-sponsored events.

For Bonitz, the formation of Pinehurst Park was a longtime dream realized. From the age of four, he explained, he has had a passion for outdoor recreation. He carried that passion to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where as a student he started the university’s skiing and snowboarding club.

In 2013, Bonitz knew that he wanted to create a new space for members of the Eau Claire community to have fun outdoors. He worked with Outdoormore founder Christian Peterson to find the right property and soon after, the park was born.

Bikers take advantage of the many features found across Pinehurst Park's 60-acre playground of a property, one portion pictured above.

Pinehurst Park comes alive throughout the year, embracing the winter season thanks to sledding, skiing, snowboarding and more activities.

“I was the enthusiastic college kid who, you know, couldn't be told ‘no,’”  Bonitz said. “And I had this army of skiers and snowboarders behind me — essentially, free labor.”

Pinehurst Park is free to the public, and completely managed by volunteers.

“It's a green space for the community,” Bonitz said. “We want everybody to come out there and use it. And that being said, we're open to any ideas. We want people to come up and approach us.”

For more information about OutdoorMore, Inc. and Pinehurst Park (3523 Delbert Rd., Eau Claire), visit pinehurstpark.org.