Advocacy

Boulder Mountainbike Alliance Trails Priorities for the Forest Service

In working with the Forest Service, we'd like to see enhancements to existing recreational trails, development of trail systems in the Gold Hill, Caribou, West Magnolia, and Winiger Ridge areas, and improved connections from Forest Service trails to Boulder County Parks and Open Space trail systems.

We'd like to see enhancements to the Sourdough trail at both the north and south ends. On the north Sourdough we'd like to improve the loop formed by the Sourdough and Baptiste-Wapiti trails by doing minor reroutes to a number of short sections on the Baptiste-Wapiti trail. These sections presently drop down narrow chutes filled with loose rock and are unsustainable. At the south end of the Sourdough we'd like to extend the trail south along the old Switzerland Railroad grade to the boundary of the Caribou Ranch. At the north end of the Ceran St.Vrain trail we'd like to do a minor reroute where the trail leaves the valley and climbs to Miller Rock. The present route includes another narrow chute down the fall line that is unsustainable.

We'd like to work with the Forest Service to officially define and improve several of the existing semi-official trail networks. These include trails in the Caribou, West Magnolia, and Winiger Ridge areas. The Forest Service has been working on travel management plans in these areas and we should be part of the process. The Forest Service should be almost finished with the Caribou and West Magnolia Travel Management Plans. East of the Peak-to-Peak Highway along western Magnolia Road we should be working with the Forest Service to formalize the Boy Scout/Dot Matrix Trail System. Here again the Forest Service has been working on a Travel Management Plan. This effort would also involve cooperation with Boulder County Parks and Open Space. The County has already made provisions for parts of the trail system in the Reynolds Ranch Management Plan (including an alignment north of Magnolia and south of the existing Blue Dot trail that would significantly improve the east-west connection).

Finally, we'd like to work with the Forest Service, Boulder County, and some municipal water utilities to create new connections between Forest Service trails and the Boulder County Parks and Open Space trail systems. In particular, we'd like to see bike access from Hall Ranch via the Buttonrock Reservoir to the Forest Service trails to the west (in cooperation with Longmont City Utilities Department) and a Winiger Ridge Trail from West Magnolia Road to Walker Ranch. We'd also like to see a Meyers Gulch/East Aqueduct Loop Trail created at the north end of the existing Myers Gulch trail. This would use Forest Service property to create a loop from north end of Myers Gulch trail via the Aqueduct alignment and would include a connection to Magnolia Road.

Existing trail enhancements:

Trail system developments:

Boulder County Parks and Open Space trail system connections: