Community Corner

Crews Begin Work On Next Phase Of Peaks To Plains Trail

The vision of a 65-mile trail connecting the Loveland Pass to Denver is taking another step toward reality.

Crews have begun working on the next phase of the trail in Clear Creek Canyon
Crews have begun working on the next phase of the trail in Clear Creek Canyon (City of Golden)

GOLDEN, CO — Work has begun on a new segment of the Peaks to Plains Trail at the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon Park. The 1.75-mile long trail will take off where the existing trail ends at the southeast corner of the U.S. 6 and 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 the trail's Project Manager Scot Grossman.

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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 restore the historic Welch Ditch wooden flume as a hiker only trail, the City of Golden said.

Work will continue until late 2020 to complete the 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.

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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 peaks2plains@gmail.com.

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