07/12/2026
Posting on behalf of a resident of Five Lakes Estates:
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Dear Community members who are so concerned about Panhandle Bike Ranch Rights:
I would like to ask you, what about the community of Sagle and Five Lakes Estates and their rights?
Here is a list of rights abuses we have endured for three years. Just a few highlights:
1) Speeding (up to 60 mph) on a private easement road where it is posted at 10 mph. We have this speed posted so children, walkers, and animals can safely enjoy the road they live on. The speeding and heavy traffic dust us out, cause horses to have coughing issues, and bring horrid dust to our properties, homes, and gardens.
2) Try leading your horses (5 head) from one pasture to another on the road you own and the land you own, only to have bike park people speed through you and flip you off. It is against Idaho code 49-609 not to yield to horses. Idaho is an open range state.
3) How about being screamed at by the owner of the bike park while he stands on your property? He screams at you because your husband is supposedly shooting on your land (rural 10) — except my husband wasn't even shooting. And so what if he was? Then he proceeded to scream at me because some of our friends were shooting on their own property, all while he was standing on our land.
4) Would you enjoy having signs stolen off your property because you expressed your point of view on the bike park? Signs hung on our own land are torn down frequently. We have had more than 20 signs stolen or defaced, and security cameras taped over. One lady who lives in a different state tore down a pro-bike-park sign, then publicly apologized and put the sign back.
5) Would you enjoy being filmed while working on your own property? Would you like to be berated while cleaning up trees from a windstorm so the road — the road you own, mind you — is passable? All the while, the park owners are yipping at you that you're not doing it fast enough, filming you, and accusing you of blocking the road. They use the road too, but couldn't help clean up trees from the storm.
6) Would you like having park customers blow their horns as they drive past your homes in retaliation against you for wanting to protect your home? It is against the law to blow your horn in this manner. These are all a nuisance to the community.
7) Would you like to have your land threatened?
8.) Would you like having trash thrown in your horse pasture and in your yard?
9) Would you like trespassers and strangers parking on your land without permission?
I keep hearing how the Kalbachs spent millions on the park and worked so hard. I am sure they did. However, our homes, fences, barns, gardens, lawns, pastures, and outbuildings were not free either. We have invested millions, or close to it, over the years into our homes. Nobody in the Five Lakes neighborhood has hired crews to do the work for them; we have all done it ourselves. In fact, my husband built three homes up here himself!
Good for the community? All I will say about that is: as residents of Five Lakes Estates were madly trying to evacuate for the Sunset Fire last year, I personally watched the trucks from the park leave here empty. We have four widowed women up here, and not one of them got an offer from the park to help out. Meanwhile, people we didn't even know came up and hauled horses and animals to safe locations. That is neighbors just looking out for neighbors.
News flash: the Panhandle Bike Ranch is not the savior of the children of Bonner County. Hate to break it to you, but there is plenty for kids to do without the one bike park. You can ride for free at Schweitzer starting at the roundabout — there are jumps, rollers, and all sorts of features. There is so much to do here; kids are blessed. If they choose to sit and play video games, that is not the fault of those who have been enduring this nuisance for three years. There are team sports, hiking, biking on other trails, fishing, sailing, rock climbing, and 4-H (it's not just for country kids!). There are church activities and the lake. I could go on and on.
Finally, it is an insult to all of us who have dedicated years to volunteering for the youth in this community to be painted as heartless people who only think of ourselves and don't care about kids. Those of us fighting to protect our homes, our land, and our property rights have coached football, baseball, and lacrosse. Any project that needs a leader in 4-H, we have stepped up. We have volunteered in teen and children's church activities, schools, and the fair. Some give horseback rides to veterans and their families free of charge, no fundraising — we just do it. Others volunteer in town to help those with dementia. The difference is we don't post it all over the internet to say "look at our 501(c)(3)" — we just step up and do it, with no fanfare. We don't look for glory.
Bottom line: this dispute comes down to following the law and county zoning codes.
Mary Miller
Five Lakes Estates resident
