The vision of a 65-mile trail connecting the Continental Divide at Loveland Pass to downtown Denver takes another step toward reality when work begins this week on a new segment of the Peaks to Plains Trail at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon Park.
This 1.75-mile long trail will take off where the existing trail ends at the southeast corner of the U.S. 6/Highway 58/Highway 93 intersection in Golden, and run west past Tunnel 1. At the base of the canyon, the trail will connect to more than 80 miles of existing trail networks to the north, south and east, including downtown Denver.
“This is a quintessential Colorado project to connect people to the recreational opportunities and natural resources in Clear Creek Canyon,” said Project Manager Scot Grossman.
The design-build team led by Muller Engineering, Yeh & Associates, Stream Design, ERO Resources and Concrete Express will build three bridges spanning Clear Creek, develop two trailhead areas with restrooms, create better parking facilities at the mouth of the canyon and near Tunnel 1 to accommodate more than 170 vehicles, and restore and open the historic Welch Ditch wooden flume as a hiker only trail.
Work is starting later this week and will continue until late 2020 to complete this next link of the Peaks to Plains Trail. With most of the initial work taking place along Clear Creek, public impacts in 2019 are expected to be minimal, but there could be short-term delays for people using existing trails as construction equipment moves through the area.
The Peaks to Plains Trail is already complete from Golden to the confluence of the South Platte River, as are many segments at the top of Clear Creek Canyon and Loveland Pass. Clear Creek County Open Space and Jeffco Open Space have previously completed four of the 16 miles within the canyon.
For more information about this project, visit www.jeffco.us/P2P, call 720-893-1313 or send an email to [email protected].
Jeffco Open Space was founded as a land conservation organization in 1972. Our mission is to preserve open space and parkland, protect park and natural resources, and provide healthy, nature-based experiences. Funded with a one-half of one percent sales tax, our organization contributes to city and park district projects, has preserved more than 56,000 acres, and manages 28 open space parks and more than 244 miles of trails in Jefferson County, Colorado.