Two city boards approved a staff-written report on May 7th that recommends closure of almost two miles worth of social trails, despite the requests of over 270 locals who asked that several of those trails remain open and grandfathered into the official trail system. The Draft Natural Surface Trails Analysis and Recommendations Report was approved by the boards with the condition that replacements to the ones slated for closure be built first. What those replacements will look like, or to what extent is yet to be…

In the City of Durango’s most recent draft of the Natural Surface Trail System Report, City staff recommend the closure of about two miles of trails on City lands, many of those used primarily by mountain bikers, representing the most heavy-handed discrimination against user-built trails to be documented in city history. From the broader perspective, it also represents a mutual distrust between mountain bikers who strive more advanced feature-rich trails and City land managers who write in the Report that it may be difficult for…

About that new freeride trail on Raiders Ridge that you love for it’s drops, jumps, berms and tech–City officials know about it, and they already have it scheduled for closure. Kitty Charmer Trail might be charming the kitties or freeriders, but it sure as hell isn’t charming officials with the City of Durango. A draft Natural Surface Trails Analysis Report released by the City of Durango on Tuesday goes in the opposite direction recommended by most commenters on the initial Report released last October. It…

On a map of trails that the City of Durango most recently has slated for closure in the final draft of the Natural Surface Trails Analysis Report, at least two are worth asking them to save. Those include the Kitty Charmer Trail on Raiders Ridge by Horse Gulch, and the Phoenix Trail, aka the Dalla Mountain Freeride Trail. They’re both ridden primarily by mountain bikers, and they both are extremely popular for their naturally rocky terrain, drops and jumps. Your signature is needed to voice…

A man living in Durango, Marc Katz, and his wife, Jane Katz, closed on 54 parcels of land on Ewing Mesa adjacent to Horse Gulch for $14 million dollars last Friday, April 10th. The large 1,850-acre swath of land was formerly owned by Oakridge Energy, Inc, a Utah Corporation with a legal address in Wichita Falls, Texas. Both Marc and Jane are listed on the warranty deed that documents their purchase of Lots 1 through 54, as well as the water rights for those parcels,…

Purgatory’s Owner, James Coleman, answered several questions for Horse Gulch Blog about downhill mountain bike trails and infrastructure at the resort through his Director of Ski Area Marketing, Stacey Glaser. What is James’ opinion about the sport of freeride/downhill mountain biking? While my first priority is skiing, I also enjoy mountain biking and support all forms of the sport, including free-ride and downhill mountain biking. As a matter of fact, Pajarito Mountain Ski Area offers lift served access as well as one of the top…

Last week I walked CDOT’s path for the proposed realignment of US 550 to US 160 at the Bridge to Nowhere with some environmental scientists from SME. During our hike, we saw deer, elk and bear fleeing the steeps of the northern aspects as we approached. Check out some of the prime edge habitat in a pinon juniper forest where we walked CDOT’s preferred alternative in the photographs below.

Following the recent completion of the draft environmental assessment of the Log Chutes Downhill Mountain Bike Zone by employees with the Columbine Ranger District, the project has been postponed indefinitely due to budgetary reasons, according to District Ranger Matt Janowiak. “It was never put out for public comment,” said Janowiak. “The document itself is finished, but we never did release it.” “It’s a decision that was made by the Forest Supervisor to not move forward with the project,” said Janowiak. “There may be some changed…

A design for a new bike park at the City of Durango’s Cundiff Park by the Animas River is turning some heads among the local mountain bike community for it’s appeal with riders who want a bike park with a social atmosphere and quick turnaround times back to the beginning of each trail. Alpine Bike Parks, a full-service design/build contractor out of British Columbia, had an employee of theirs in town last week who led a presentation/discussion about the feasibility of putting in a bike…

What would Florida Mesa look like if the Colorado Department of Transportation excavates 1.82 million cubic yards of material from the northern end of it in order to realign US Highway 550 to the Bridge to Nowhere at the Grandview Interchange? I would prefer not to see the geographical impact of this alternative called RGM6. I would prefer not to see those one hundred thousand dump truck loads (18 cubic yards per load) of material get removed from Florida Mesa. The visual impact of what…

The Colorado Department of Transportation has a new design proposal for connecting US Highway 550 to the Bridge to Nowhere on US Highway 160, also known as the Grandview Interchange. In the new design, referred to by CDOT as RGM6 , the Preferred Alternative, the road would run along the edge of Florida Mesa before popping out at the Bridge to Nowhere (my words), instead of cutting straight across the Webb Ranch. The old Farmington Hill approach would be reclaimed and the existing intersection at…

The extended, upper Raiders Ridge Trail has long been a favorite for people wanting stellar views of the Animas Valley or challenging rocky terrain to ride on. As of December 23, 2014, most of the extended part is now owned by the City of Durango, following guidance from the Natural Lands Preservation Advisory Board and City staff, said Durango’s Assistant Community Development Director Kevin Hall. Unlike many other open-space parcels that the City has purchased in Horse Gulch, this one will not be regulated by…

The City of Durango is accepting additional public comments regarding the recommendations from the Natural Surface Trails Committee, and more importantly, their proposal to close several popular trail segments on City lands. If you attended the last joint meeting between the Natural Lands Board and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board where they discussed the Committees’ recommendations, heard public comments and discussed the proposed closure of trails on City lands, you may have some questions such as: Why is Trails 2000 on a Committee that’s…

Last Spring, the City of Durango applied for a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to help purchase 113 acres of Jake Dalla’s land on the extended Raiders Ridge. This week, we got word that the City’s GOCO grant request had been denied, which means that Durango might instead follow their backup plan to purchase all or part of Dalla’s land with with its own money. While a purchase made with matching GOCO and City of Durango funding would likely result in the land going…