Potential New Trail in Eldorado Canyon

Greetings:

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), Boulder County Parks and Open Space (BCPOS), and Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) are evaluating whether or not to build a new multiuse trail to connect Eldorado Canyon State Park to the Walker Ranch loop. If built, a new trail would allow mountain bikes to connect through Eldorado Canyon to the Walker Ranch loop.

There are currently three options being considered:

1. Build a new trail through the “South Draw” via Rattlesnake Gulch
2. Rebuild the Eldorado Canyon trail
3. Do nothing

If you would like to learn more about the options and contribute feedback, please visit:

https://www.bouldercounty.org/open-space/management/eldo-walker-connection/

Input is being collected until September 11, 2018.

Submitted my comments. I think that the mountain bike link up will create an even bigger congestion issue than Eldo already has. If it goes through, they absolutely need to solve the capacity issue. It's already a shame that it is a regular occurrence to be turned back at the entrance because there is no more parking. This will be even worse with the MTB trail proposal. I think that the trails will make Eldo a destination MTB area. This means that nearly a whole new user group (with a lot of people) will be visiting Eldo. If the plan goes through, I really hope they put in a shuttle or something so I don't have to wake up at 5:00 to go climbing on a Saturday.

As someone who mountain bikes, I look forward to a Eldo-Walker linkage, as it makes it possible for me to ride to Walker (and beyond to Ned., and perhaps up and over the Indian Peaks), without having to get on Flagstaff road (which, if you wanna talk about congested and dangerous to ride on the weekend...).

I also ride to Eldo, so it gives a nice new option for post climbing rides.

It's like, an amazing idea for me.

 

I submitted my comments also - I went from the point of view of not wanting increased congestion on the existing trail (already busy, why add another user group?) and preferring the addition of another new trail option - which might ease some congestion? However, as Jon pointed out, I completely neglected to consider the impact on parking, Eldo already being at (over) capacity on the weekend, and bringing a whole other group of users into the park, those are great points. I got the sense from the options provided that 'leaving as is' is not really an option. It seems like they are going to get this done one way or another. I enjoy mountain biking and it would be nice to link these 2 areas, but really hate to see Eldo become more crowded than it already is.

I'll add comments, too---but consider a shuttle from the dirt lot out at the highway for climbers...and cyclists should be encouraged to ride into the park (climbers, too, for that matter). Agreed--encouraging drive-to-ride recreation in/through Eldo would be a bad idea...

But, there's already mountain biking in Eldorado State Park - it's not "a new user group". Rattlesnake Gulch Trail is opened to mountain bikers.

I never thought about starting a MTB ride from Eldo - it seems like it's just in the middle of the ride. Consider there's a parking lot at Marshal Mesa (and Doudy Draw, and across the street at South Mesa TH a little west), with trails that go west in Eldorado Springs already. To be able to go through Walker Ranch would make for some really MTB'ing. As I already mentioned, after riding Walker, you could then take a dirt route to Ned via 68J and/or various trails in the Ned. system, or go back down Flagstaff, down Chapman Drive and to Betasso. It just opens up a lot of riding having a connector in there.

But, I ain't going to start/end in Eldo.

What I DO do sometimes is ride a bike to Eldo to climb. For that, a bike rack would be nice so I don't have to chain the thing up to the bridge, or throw it somewhere in the bushes.

Long Ranger wrote: [...]
What I DO do sometimes is ride a bike to Eldo to climb. For that, a bike rack would be nice so I don't have to chain the thing up to the bridge, or throw it somewhere in the bushes.

A bike rack was installed last fall near the crapper.

Gregger Man wrote:

A bike rack was installed last fall near the crapper.

my dreams have come true! <3

Again, Rattlesnake is open to MTBers already. Doudy Draw is as well. BillS, do you have current info?

Long Ranger wrote: I never thought about starting a MTB ride from Eldo - it seems like it's just in the middle of the ride. Consider there's a parking lot at Marshal Mesa (and Doudy Draw, and across the street at South Mesa TH a little west), with trails that go west in Eldorado Springs already.

May I presume you were not aware that those are full to the point of problems on every weekend day already?  The County has already staked out (literally) the roadside all around the S. Mesa Trailhead  to make it impossible to park there.  It was 10 years ago when they were already writing 100 parking tickets a day.
Don't you think that increased use will require some parking capacity increase?  Not all of the users are going to come from South Boulder on bikes.
For those of us with a 30 minute DRIVE required to get there, the concept of biking there is going to be tough, 3+ hours, I would suppose, some on dangerously (or un-) bikable roads.
And they've already made the Flatirons tougher via parking restrictions there, due to limited and overused parking.

Seems to me that parking is going to be an issue even exempt a new trail, just with growing populations.
I do think that one population has just as much right to use a park as the next, but there are going to be all kinds of problems if the parking resource is squeezed.

I also think that the admission process/arrangement will need to be addressed, as the entrance can be a bit of a backup as it is.  
Have people here seen the S. Entrance to Cherry Creek S.P. on a weekend?  
People with passes idle their cars there for 45 min to creep through a line 300 yards long, pass or no pass, to get into the park.
St Vrain State Park mitigated this problem by opening 2 lanes, one on the left for permits, and one on the right for pay, so as to process more than one car whilst the driver paying sits 3-5min filling out a form and asking questions.

Long Ranger wrote: Again, Rattlesnake is open to MTBers already. Doudy Draw is as well. BillS, do you have current info?

I think what BillS is referring to is the 1-mile stretch of the Fowler trail (the old railway grade) between Rattlesnake Gulch and the OSMP biking trails further east (Spring Brook Loop, etc). That section isn't currently open to mountain bikes. It would be nice to have that connection, and it would provide more options for parking, but there'd be conflicts with pedestrian traffic in places like the narrow cutting behind the Bastille. And Eldo would forego a fair amount of entrance fee revenue unless they put up a booth where the trail crosses into the park.

Build a new trail for mountain bikes. It's long overdue. A connector trail from the Marshall Mesa and Dowdy Draw trailheads and entering Eldorado via the old railroad grade would be desirable. It would end at the beginning of the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail, which is open to mountain bikes.

BillS wrote:

My comment is that you can not not ride trails between Dowdy and Rattlesnake - but I think it would help parking if you could.  There is a rather wide trail between that used to be open to MTB - but was later closed - the Fowler Trail.  

Has something recently changed and it is now open again?

Yeah, we're probably talking above each other. I apologize. 

Hope that the MTB connector trail goes in, and I hope it can happen without causing undue traffic on this popular area. Further away from the most popular climbing access trails, the better. I can certainly see a problem with faster moving people on bikes having a hard time with slower people with heavy packs vice versa.

Tony B wrote:
May I presume you were not aware that those are full to the point of problems on every weekend day already?  The County has already staked out (literally) the roadside all around the S. Mesa Trailhead  to make it impossible to park there.  It was 10 years ago when they were already writing 100 parking tickets a day.
Don't you think that increased use will require some parking capacity increase?  Not all of the users are going to come from South Boulder on bikes.
For those of us with a 30 minute DRIVE required to get there, the concept of biking there is going to be tough, 3+ hours, I would suppose, some on dangerously (or un-) bikable roads.
And they've already made the Flatirons tougher via parking restrictions there, due to limited and overused parking.

Yeah, traffic, parking, and access are hot topics in the Bubble (and further), as you well know. I wouldn't presume anyone to ride 3 hours to climb. But, as someone who doesn't drive (and does ride all over creation to do things): feel my pain when it comes to dangerous routes to simply get to a destination. That is sort of why a connector trail through Eldo for bikes is exciting to me. I'd rather ride off road than on, especially if I'm just recreating.

As a solution the parking traffic right now in Eldo though, parking a few miles away and pushin' the rest of the way on bike is at least an interesting idea to explore. You know a bunch of people who ride from Boulder to Eldo already, I'm sure of it.

I also think that the admission process/arrangement will need to be addressed, as the entrance can be a bit of a backup as it is.  

I agree.

Have people here seen the S. Entrance to Cherry Creek S.P. on a weekend?  
People with passes idle their cars there for 45 min to creep through a line 300 yards long, pass or no pass, to get into the park.
St Vrain State Park mitigated this problem by opening 2 lanes, one on the left for permits, and one on the right for pay, so as to process more than one car whilst the driver paying sits 3-5min filling out a form and asking questions.

It's a total shit show, I agree. I try to avoid situations like that, personally. I couldn't believe the lines to Brainard Lake this summer. It was hours long. Not my cup of tea, for sure.

As a MTB rider I really like the idea of this connector trail. As a climber I don't like the idea of increased parking issues in the canyon although this is already pretty bad. Perhaps it makes sense to consider expanding the Doudy Draw parking lot as part of this project (or is it too late in the process)?. Then MTB riders could simply park there and ride down the road through the park.

Wow I'm glad I climb in the Gunks where we don't have these overcrowding issues.

SethG wrote: Wow I'm glad I climb in the Gunks where we don't have these overcrowding issues.

lol...is this a serious or sarcastic comment?

Cortney LeNeave wrote:

lol...is this a serious or sarcastic comment?

Just kidding around. I love Eldo, BTW.

Vaughn wrote: Perhaps it makes sense to consider expanding the Doudy Draw parking lot as part of this project (or is it too late in the process)?. Then MTB riders could simply park there and ride down the road through the park.

Agreed that it would make sense to expand Doudy Draw parking (or just make better use of the existing space), but it would likely have to be a separate initiative. This project is being coordinated by Boulder County but Doudy Draw is controlled by City of Boulder OSMP. OSMP's relationship with users/visitors could politely be described as "complicated".

Martin le Roux wrote:

Agreed that it would make sense to expand Doudy Draw parking (or just make better use of the existing space), but it would likely have to be a separate initiative. This project is being coordinated by Boulder County but Doudy Draw is controlled by City of Boulder OSMP. OSMP's relationship with users/visitors could politely be described as "complicated".

Could be described that way, yes, if one were to be "generous" about it.
If Dowdy Draw were doubled today, it might take it until 9am to fill up instead of 7:30am.   It was over-crowded in the 90's.

So I'm wondering by how much they'd have to expand it to allow for additional users?  Double would make it almost big enough for existing demand, I figure, presuming that people are not already staying away due to parking... in which case the demand might be much higher.  What I know for sure is that on nice days before they literally picketed the roadside, you'd have as many, if not more more cars parked (illegally, getting ticketed) on the road than in that lot.

Hey all - great to read so many thoughtful perspectives. I'm part of a grassroots organization that recently formed to create a trail from Boulder to Winter Park - we call it the Indian Peaks Traverse (see more here: http://indianpeakstraverse.org/). Anyway, this segment through Eldorado Canyon State Park is the last missing link that we do not yet have permission to build to realize this vision of a regional non-motorized trail. That said, we are quite aware of the potential problems this trail could cause and are looking for ways to partner with the park to address those issues - especially parking and capacity issues.

For some thoughts on the south side alignment, check out this blog post: http://indianpeakstraverse.org/2018/08/20/a-mountain-bike-tour-rattlesnake/
For some thoughts on the north side alignment, check out this blog post: http://indianpeakstraverse.org/2018/08/06/eldo-canyon-to-walker-ranch-connectivity/

Subscribe to our blog if you want to stay up to date on the goings on for Eldo-to-Walker and beyond: indianpeakstraverse.org/sig…

Happy trails!