City Parks adding, rerouting trails this summer in Red Rock Canyon

City Parks adding, rerouting trails this summer in Red Rock Canyon

A scene from the initial trail project in Red Rock Canyon from 2004 is shown. The trail was being brought up through the old rock quarry.

Westside Pioneer file photo

Colorado Springs Parks is adding roughly five miles of multi-use trails this summer in Red Rock Canyon Open Space, all of which are designed to be “fun on bikes,” according to the spring issue of the Red Rock Rag newsletter.
       Most of these trails are in the southeast corner of the park and are still unnamed, adds the newsletter, which is published by the Friends of Red Rock Canyon group.
       The city's summer work includes reroutes of parts of the Intemann Trail, which volunteers built across the Section 16 foothills in the late 1980s under the leadership of the Intemann Trail Committee (1987-2014). The reroutes are based on master plan decisions City Parks made after buying Section 16 in 2010 and adding its 640 acres to Red Rock Canyon.
       Also in the southeast area, volunteers are building a trail from the White Acres pavilion up to the adjacent Dakota Hogback. “From there you can use the White Acres Trail to go left to the Section 16 trailhead or back north to the Hogback Trail and the other parking lots,” the Red Rock Rag states.
       Consisting of 45 acres, the White Acres property was bought by the city and added to Red Rock Canyon Open Space nine years ago.
       The Friends group was started by citizens who had previously advocated that the city buy the original Red Rock Canyon property (790 acres) to counteract a private development plan. That purchase was culminated in 2003.
       Access to the open space is free of charge, with public parking lots off Highway 24 and at 31st Street.
       Here are upcoming Friends workdays, to which volunteers are welcome: May 6 (Highway 24 cleanup with Scenic Colorado), May 14 (Contemplative Trail), May 20 (Public Lands Day) and June 9 (White Acres).
       For more information, go to redrockcanyonopenspace.org or call 685-4792.

Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 4/29/17; Outdoors: Red Rock Canyon)

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