Trail Talk: What's On the Agenda for Trinidad Trails in 2025?

If you missed our Trail Talk meeting in January of 2025, we want to catch you up on the many great developments in store for trails around the region this year (and beyond).

Below you'll find updates for each of the major trail systems -- and even a couple new ones still in development or planning.

Old Sopris Trail

The Old Sopris Trail is a trail project that the City of Trinidad has been working on in conjunction with the Trust for Public Land. If and when completed, it will extend the Boulevard Addition trails to connect town to Trinidad Lake State Park along the river bottom.

Right now the City is pursuing land acquisition along the planned route. The next steps are to update their appraisal of the land and obtain new contract opportunities to develop conservation and recreation along the river corridor.

Wormhole Loop

For 2025, we plan to complete an official trail map and install signage throughout the trail system for wayfinding. We are also pursuing funding for construction of 1-2 miles of new trail, flagged last summer.

We're celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Wormhole this year, so it's a great time to keep building on our momentum!

We are also working with the Trinidad State College trail building program as they offer a new mechanized trail building course. TTA will sponsor 2-3 local students to complete this course to provide new machine-built trail capabilities!

If you are interested in this sponsorship, please contact trinidadtrailsalliance@gmail.com.

Santa Fe Trail

If you haven't heard, the City and CDOT have plans to connect downtown Trinidad to Fishers Peak State Park via a bicycle and pedestrian lane or possibly a separated path. Right now, an engineering firm is working on surveying, adhering to CDOT requirements.

This project was originally identified in a 2022 Traffic Study. By the end of the year, we hope to see surveying complete and design plans ready to go out for bid.

Boulevard Addition

The Boulevard trails have seen some great improvements over the past year, with new lighting, signage, trailhead kiosks, and grading/gravel additions.

In 2025, there are plans for additional vegetation work, planting native grasses and setting up a mowing schedule to help restore and maintain native plants. TTA will continue to support the City and Purgatoire Rivershed Partnership with at least one volunteer day to assist with trail management and this vegetation work.

Riverwalk

There are major plans along the Purgatoire as Purgatoire Rivershed Partnership (PWP), the City, and other partners continue to pursue the River Vision Plan with improvements and development stretching from the Boulevard all the way to Highway 160.

The overall vision is to center outdoor recreation around our river, with eventual trail connectivity from Trinidad Lake to the Kit Carson Highway.

For TTA, we plan to engage in 2025 by creating a new doubletrack trail segment below the existing riverwalk that meanders along the river on an old irrigation road running from the animal shelter to highway 160. We will work with the irrigators / landowners as these plans develop.

PWP and TTA also extend a warm welcome to Chelsea Meece, newly hired Systems Coordinator for the Trinidad and Huerfano Counties Coalition for the Unhoused, who will partner with local agencies to provide insights and plan new resources to assist our unhoused neighbors. The Trinidad Police Department has also introduced a new co-responder, Alfia Lane, to facilitate as emergency responders interact with unhoused individuals or people in crisis.

As our public spaces are rightfully used by all members of the Trinidad community, including those who are currently unhoused, TTA hopes these experienced hires will make great strides in creating a safe and enjoyable outdoor experience for all.

Fishers Peak State Park

The next round of trail construction at FPSP will begin this summer, including 9.5 miles of new multi-use hiking/biking trails, in addition to a new separate equestrian trailhead and the first equine trail at the park.

The new multi-use trails will be a stacked loop from the gate at the top of Shady Woods down to the Osita Point intersection, and from Osita Point down to insersect with Goldenrod trail.

The park also hopes to build a handful of backcountry camping sites along the new trail loops.

If all goes according to plan, we might be enjoying these new trails by this time next year!

Trinidad Lake State Park

While there aren't any major trail additions coming in 2025, TTA will continue to provide volunteer efforts for trail maintenance, with a particular focus on the Reilly Canyon Trail.

We might even obtain special permission for an overnight campout along the trail to make it easier to access to middle portions of the trail and knock out some much needed repairs!

"Lakeview" Mountain Bike Trails

As you may have seen, the City acquired a new parcel along Highway 12 adjacent to Trinidad Lake State Park. What you may not know is that a contract was signed to provide mountain bike optimized trail design and construction at the property!

For now, we are referring to these new trails as the "Lakeview" trails. Trail layout and construction have commenced on the property, but it is not currently open to the public.

Overall, the trails will be completed in three phases for a total of 9 to 11 miles. By end of this year, we hope to hear that funding has been secured for the second phase of construction.

TTA will remain engaged on this project to provide long-term maintenance and volunteer hours, as with other trail systems across the region.

Trinidad Animal Shelter

A while back, TTA helped rough in a section of singletrack that ran from the then-Noah's Ark Animal Shelter down to the riverwalk, to help volunteer dog walkers access a better area than the sidewalk adjacent to Highway 160.

The City is now pursuing the acquisition of land adjacent to the old power and light building in order to provide improved access to the Riverwalk. A small gravel trail and bench near the animal shelter parking lot are among the improvement plans.

"ACE" Bike Park

The "ACE" (Army Corps of Engineers) bike park trails are located below the dam on federal land. The initial skills loop was built in 2023 and TTA helped complete an access trail last year.

We plan to return to improve this access trail and will continue to partner with the ACE as they seek to add additional bike-optimized trails in the skills area. We hope to see an additional trail completed that descends from the upper north area of the park down to the skills.

Wow! If you're still with us, we hope you're as excited as we are about the amazing momentum around trails and open space in Trinidad!

Please keep your eyes out for volunteer opportunities for all these projects as the year continues.