2007 Trail Happenings

Transcription

1 THE COMMUNITIES OF GYPSUM, EAGLE, EDWARDS, AVON, VAIL, MINTURN, RED CLIFF AND EAGLE COUNTY WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE A REGIONAL TRAIL SYSTEM Trail Happenings CONSTRUCTION IS UNDERWAY ON THE EAGLE TO GYPSUM TRAIL that will link the communities together so residents can travel from each community for transportation and recreation. The project is jointly funded through the ECO Trails fund and the Eagle County Commissioners, in cooperation with public agencies and private landowners. A major percentage of the project is being constructed by the Eagle County Road and Bridge Department staff. The 3 mile project is targeted for completion in July. For more information contact Ellie Caryl at ECO Trails, THE TOWN OF GYPSUM is planning on completing the connection of the trail along Cooley Mesa Road to Valley Road this year; and Eagle County is working on the connection from Navajo Road to Spring Creek Road as part of the Cooley Mesa Road improvements at the airport. CDOT AND EAGLE COUNTY are discussing future plans for widening the shoulders between Eagle and Edwards, including engineering, cost and timing details. CDOT has already begun widening work on shoulder improvements east of Eagle. THE TOWN OF MINTURN is considering construction of a major section of the regional trail system as part of the Battle Mountain Planned Unit Development and annexation. ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ARE UNDERWAY valleywide and may affect biking and walking routes, but some routes are also being added. In Gypsum: Bridwell Ave, Valley Road, Jules Drive and 2 nd Street slated for construction. In Avon: West Benchmark Road, Avon Road, Eaglebend and Stonebridge (including new bike/ped path), West Beaver Creek Boulevard, Saddleridge Loop, Wildridge Road East and West, and Riverfront Drive. In Eagle: Broadway Street, Sylvan Lake Road (including a new bike/ped path), Brush Creek Road (including a new bike/ped path). In Vail: work continues in the Village, East Meadow Drive, Lionshead. In Eagle County, various road overlay projects. Check each government s website for details and contact info. TRAIL CLOSURES ARE IN EFFECT until mid to late June on several local trails for wildlife protection: North Trail and Son of Middle Creek are closed until June 15; Paulie s Plunge and Paulie s Sister are closed until June 30; Whiskey Creek, Eastern Hillside and the Back Bowl s (i.e. large protion of Two Elk trail) are closed until July 1. Please respect these closures out of respect for wildlife and their calving, feeding and migration needs. For more information, contact the Holy Cross Ranger District at SPRING 2007 EDITION ONE VACANCY EXISTS on the ECO Eagle Valley Trails Committee. If you are interested in being a part of the 18-member committee, please contact Ellie Caryl at or ellie.caryl@eaglecounty.us for an application or to learn more.

2 PLEASE LEASH AND CLEAN UP AFTER YOUR DOGS if using the trail. Tickets can be issued for violations on paved multi-use trails, and we ask that you respect others when using the trail with your dog. PLEASE OBEY STATE LAWS on biking and driving. Bikers are asked to ride single fi le and never more than two abreast, obey stop signs and other traffi c rules. Vehicles must give bikers at least 3 feet of clearance when passing. In 2005 in the U.S., 90,000 collisions occurred between bicyclists and vehicles, including 1,000 deaths. Play it safe. TRAIL SECTIONS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION: 1 mile unpaved trail, alongside Highway 6 and the Eagle River west of Gypsum, the Gyp-Dot Trail 3 miles of trail to be completed this year, the Eagle to Gypsum Trail Please contact Ellie at ECO Trails or at ellie.caryl@eaglecounty.us for more information. JUNE is Colorado Bike Month - Check out the Events Calendar for fun things happening in your area ROUND-UP AND RE-CAP TOWN OF AVON COMPLETED A TRAIL CONNECTION from Avon Road north roundabout to Swift Gulch Road with a second section along Swift Gulch Road to Post Boulevard completed by the Village at Avon development. Avon also improved the trail intersection at West Beaver Creek Boulevard. GYPSUM COMPLETED A PORTION of their Cooley Mesa Road trail section as part of the road improvement project. ECO TRAILS AND EAGLE COUNTY ROAD AND BRIDGE DEPARTMENT completed a mile of trail on CDOT and BLM property west of Gypsum and alongside the Eagle River. OTHER IMPORTANT TRAIL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Town of Vail completed improvements on their town trail system, including reconstruction of the Cascade section. Eagle Ranch continued to add trail miles for the enjoyment of residents of the development and the general public. Adam s Rib completed 2 miles of spur trail up the Brush Creek valley at the Frost Creek development; the trail is for public use. DETAILED COMMENTS on the US Forest Service Travel Management Plan were submitted by the ECO Trails Committee regarding trail designations on forest lands throughout the Eagle Valley. The Bureau of Land Management has a new management plan in the works. See for more information. CDOT AND ECO TRAILS worked together on a 2 mile repaving project of the Vail Pass Trail. An ECO Trails site survey found that 70% of the users were from outside of Eagle County, and all around the country and world as well. Thanks to CDOT staff for tackling the project and fi nishing ahead of schedule.

3 TRAILS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN Dick Cleveland was selected for the Volunteer of the Year award in the Environment Category, which was presented by the Eagle County Commissioners. JEFF MOHRMAN OF AVON was selected as the winner of the 2006 Commuter of Year Award for his tenacious and consistent commitment to biking to work, and promoting bicycle commuting through his bike shop business. Way to go Jeff!! BIKE TO WORK DAY 2006 was another huge success Thanks to all the participants! THANKS TO THE SONNENALP FOUNDATION for selecting the ECO Trails Program as the benefi ciary of the annual Casual Classic Bike Ride for the sixth year in a row!! A donation of $3,000 was made to the program. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2006 TRAIL SUPPORTERS OF THE YEAR: Heather Sappenfi eld of Eagle for her work on the Eagle Bike Skills Park; Colorado Department of Transportation Maintenance and Engineering Departments for their work on the Vail Pass Trail Reconstruction Project; Eagle County Road and Bridge Department for constructing the Gypsum to Dotsero Trail project; and Dawes Wilson for his outstanding efforts in competitive biking, trail maintenance, bike commuting and advocacy for bicycling issues. THANKS TO THE ECO EAGLE VALLEY TRAILS COMMITTEE for another great year past and another year upon us. Lots done, and lots to do! Please extend a big thanks to these folks next time you see them out and about. And thanks to Brian Patty of Eagle for serving on the Committee for the last two years. THANKS ALSO TO ARLA RANDALL AND GARRETT & B.J. SMITH for their kind donations in 2006 to the trails program. THANKS TO ALL THE FANTASTIC VOLUNTEERS at the Vail Pass Trail Clean Up and the Antlers at Vail for sponsoring the picnic. THANKS TO ALL THE ADOPT-A-TRAIL individuals, businesses and organizations that have taken on sections of the paved trail throughout the valley to monitor and keep clean, and the school kids that help with additional trail work days and clean-ups. THE EAGLE SKILLS BIKE PARK is a major success. Created for kids to learn mountain biking skills, the park is now a favorite among local kids and their parents, and now under the wing of the Town of Eagle and still a favorite for TLC work days. An impressive job by a team of motivated Eagle residents! CHECK OUT THE ECO TRAILS WEB PAGE at for The Best of the ECO Sports 2007 Ride Guide, a sampler of 6 local hiking and mountain biking trails selected by the Eagle County GIS Department AND new and improved maps of the existing and proposed Eagle Valley Core Trail. ECO TRAILS GEAR: Great presents for family and friends and helps support the trails program! Purchase ECO Trails Sox for $10 in lime green/gray or lilac/gray or an ECO Trails t-shirt with the Share the Road peace sign for $8. See our website at for more information.

4 MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS! May 23 Hammer In The Hay ( ) June Colorado Bike Month - ECO Trails Commuter of the Year awarded this month June 2 TEVA Games, multiple events ( ) June 3 TEVA Games, multiple events ( ) June 9 Vail Pass Clean Up - ECO Trails Event June 13 North Trail - TAG ( ) Berry Creek Bash ( ) June 16 Son of Middle Creek Trail Work Day - TAG ( ) June 24 TEVA Games 10,000 Feet ( ) June 27 Davos Dash ( ) June 27 Bike to Work Day - ECO Trails Event July 7 Cougar Ridge Trail Work Day - TAG ( ) July 8 TEVA Vail Hillclimb ( ) July 11 Vail Mountain Grind ( ) July 14 Triple Bypass Bike Tour July 21 ~ 23 Courage Classic July 22 TEVA Games Vail Half Marathon ( ) July 25 Lost Lake Loop ( ) July 29 SOS Colorado Eagle River Ride August 4 Colorado Cyclist Copper Triangle August 8 Beaver Creek Blast August 12 TEVA Tiga Berry Picker Trail Run ( ) August 25 Vertical Ascent Running Race ( ) August 26 Sonnenalp Casual Classic Bike Ride - ECO Trails Event Gore Creek Trail Work Day - TAG ( ) September 9 - TEVA Games Jointworks EverGold Trail 10K ( ) September 16 ~ 21 Trans Rockies Run September 20 & 21 Colorado Walks Conference, Vail October 6 Take a Kid Mtn Biking Day SAve the date!! SONNENALP CASUAL CLASSIC BIKE RIDE Sunday, August 26 Don t miss this annual family fun -fi lled ride sponsored by the Sonnenalp of Vail foundation, benefi ting ECO Trails!! For registration information, please go to or

5 VAIL PASS TRAIL CLEAN UP SATURDAY, JUNE 9 TH 8:00 to 1:00 p.m. The annual fun event! Meet at 8:00 a.m. at the Lionshead parking structure, top deck. Bring gloves, water bottle, raincoat. All else provided including LUNCH AND PRIZES! Please call Ellie at for questions or to sign up, or just show up the day of the event! BIKE TO WORK DAY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27 Look for aid stations from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. in Vail, Dowd Junction, Avon, Edwards, Eagle and Gypsum. Hope to see you there!!

6 TRAIL ACTION WORK DATES Are you looking for a get down and dirty volunteer opportunity? Come help out at a Trail Action Group work day in 2007! May 16, Wednesday - June 13, Wednesday - June 16, Saturday - July 7, Saturday - August 26, Sunday - Berry Creek Trail Specialty Sports North Trail Son of Middle Creek Cougar Ridge Trail Gore Creek Trail Lunch, tools, and crew leaders will be provided. Please wear long pants, boots, and remember to bring gloves, snacks, water and rain gear. See for more info on meeting times and locations, or contact Dawes Wilson at , at daweswilson@hotmail.com. ECO Trails PO Box 1070 Gypsum, CO FORWARDING SERVICE REQUESTED