Open Space Update – August 2021

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new trail in town! Here’s the full story, plus an amazing list of other projects which are on-going or have been completed…what a busy summer!

Clear Creek Canyon Park- Gateway Segment Open

Finally! The Gateway Segment of the Clear Creek Canyon Trail, that you’ve been reading about and heard so much about for months now, is open! It opened on August 25, following a 4 P.M. “cable cutting” ceremony, which was held at the Gateway Trailhead.

This 1.75-mile trail connects with downtown Golden along Clear Creek via the Grant Terry Trail and continues west to Tunnel 1 alongside US 6. The two new trailheads – one at the entrance to the canyon and one east of Tunnel 1 – feature more than 170 parking spaces, permanent restrooms, and shade structures. The parking area at the Gateway Segment Trailhead has the added features of a bike repair station, a bike rack with metal frame crafted from the parts of cars retrieved from the canyon during construction, and a drinking fountain that includes a ground-level fountain for four-legged hiking companions.

This project also includes the first suspension bridge in Jefferson County. This pedestrian-only crossing of Clear Creek near Tunnel 1 connects hikers with the restored wooden flume of the Welch Ditch on the south wall of the Canyon. Water access is also improved with rock staircases along the trail. This Gateway Segment – part of the Peaks to Plains Trail – honors the area’s mining history with materials and treatments like stained concrete and bridge railings that are designed to help the trail blend in with the canyon.

Access this new segment by parking at the Gateway Trailhead located at 20050 US Highway 6, in Golden at the intersection of US 6/HWY 93/HWY 58.  The trail will be open from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset, with electronic gates at both parking facilities closing at those times to prohibit overnight parking.  With the opening of this new trail, park visitors are reminded to recreate responsibly.

Crown Hill Park Concrete Trail Replacement

Have you been to Crown Hill Park lately? JCOS is replacing big sections of the concrete trail on the south and west sides of the park. The cumulative effects of time, weather and traffic have taken a toll. Anticipate seeing trail detour signs and respect them. The affected trails will be closed for the duration of the work. Reconstruction is currently slated for September 20-27, but this may change, based on contractor availability and the weather. The project should take a full week to complete. No vehicle traffic will be allowed on the trails until October 18, to allow for some extra curing time.

White Ranch Park

The Trails Team & the Trails Stewardship Team, along with COMBA (Colorado Mountain Biking Association), are working on a small reroute of the Mustang Trail.  The reroute will replace the current section of Mustang Trail, which has deteriorating wooden ramps and parallels a drainage.  The new route will move the trail away from an adjacent riparian area, up onto the hill side. COMBA has also been volunteering to help keep the Middle Longhorn Trail in good shape, as it tends to develop erosional dips and swales from overuse. The Trails Team is targeting the opening of the rerouted Mustang Trail by the end of September.

Deer Creek Canyon Park

Scott Waters, Trail Services Team Lead, has a volunteer trail project every Tuesday & Thursday from April-November in Deer Creek Canyon Park.  In August, Scott and eight volunteers worked on a section of trail on Rattlesnake Gulch.  They worked on cutting back vegetation, worked on treading the trail, and enhanced the functionality of a switchback by widening it into more of a climbing turn.

Fairgrounds Trail

Scott Waters, Trail Services Team Lead, hosted a volunteer day to give much needed love to a trail in the system that starts at the Jeffco Fairgrounds and travels to Green Mountain Park in the City of Lakewood. Once again, Scott and the volunteers performed stellar trail work by restoring parts of the former trail, while constructing areas of new trail.

Elk Meadow Park

Mechanical trail construction wrapped up at Stagecoach South.  The finished tread work will be completed in the future.

Beaver Ranch Park

Trail construction continues at Beaver Ranch. The Trails Team cut roughly 2 miles of trail in August, and finished off about 1.5 miles of trail!  Work has started on the section of a new trail from Coyote Creek down to the bridge crossing. Huge thanks to the Trail Services Team for the assistance in knocking out the tread work after the Sutter went through.

Lair o’ the Bear Park

Park Services and Cory Marusin, Region Coordinator for Open Space, worked together to add material and grade the parking lot.  There are many more spaces now, a big improvement!!

Burro Patrol Team Unite!

Meet the Burro Patrollers, a volunteer group of teens and adult leaders assembled by Shaun Howard, Park Ranger. The Burro Patrol patrols the trails, looking for park visitors who are doing “the right thing”, such as dog-on-leash, bagging out trash, and staying on trail. When found, the Burro Patrollers give out small gifts and giant thank-yous. The Burro Patrol is also involved in service-based projects and assists at the trail courtesy popups. This summer, the Burro Patrol has helped with trash pickup, trimming emergency access routes, removing trees over trails, and assisting natural resources in deployment of research traps – specifically for the Natural Resources Team study of the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. Keep an eye out for the burros and their pack goat assistants, coming to a park near you!

Photos by Chelsea Beebe and Shaun Howard

Help Reduce Wildfire Danger

Don’t forget the SLASH collection program, it’s happening now until the end of October, at rotating locations every weekend. Protect your home and community from wildfire by creating defensible space around your home to reduce risk of wildfire. Bring your tree debris to Jeffco SLASH this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, 9AM to 4PM each day. More info: https://www.jeffco.us/slash

Jeffco Bike Plan

Jeffco Transportation and Engineering is in the process of updating the Bicycle Plan for the county, focusing on unincorporated Jeffco and linking to Open Space or other popular destinations. For more information go to the Jeffco Bike Plan Update

Fall Stewardship Webinar Series

Jeffco Invasive Species Management and CSU Extension (Boulder, Jeffco, and Larimer Counties) are hosting a four week speaker series from September 15 through October 6.  This free program will educate and inform small acreage property owners on the latest trends in land stewardship. The talks are geared for owners of 2-10+ acres but all are welcome. Virtual sessions, from 6:00–7:30 pm. register here.

Volunteers Wanted for National Public Lands Day

Join us for National Public Lands Day along Clear Creek Trail near the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt to help with trash cleanup, vegetation trimming, noxious weed removal, planting and seeding, beaver tree painting, gold panning mitigation, and graffiti removal in the Golden Cliffs climbing area. End the day with a celebration at Anderson Park, FREE FOOD & FUN!

Register: offero.jeffco.us/Calendar

Photo of the Month

Every summer the Natural Resources Team assists Colorado Parks & Wildlife with the bighorn sheep survey in Clear Creek Canyon Park. This year the sheep did not disappoint! The team saw a total of 20 individuals throughout the canyon, including a large group of rams near Tunnel 1 and a group of ewes and yearlings just north of the Big Easy Trailhead. This monitoring not only provides a seasonal estimation of individuals and important age group and sex ratios, but it’s also a great opportunity to help our state wildlife agency and be a partner in conservation.
Photo by Natural Resource Specialist, Michelle Desrosiers

What a month! Miss Mountain Manners is astonished at how busy the Parks are in the summertime! There’s so much that needs to get done before the snow flies, and in the higher elevation parks, that will happen before you know it. Recreate responsibly, check https://www.jeffco.us/1531/Alerts-Closures for trail conditions and closures before heading out.

Miss Mountain Manners wants to let everyone at JeffCo Open Space know how proud we at PLAN Jeffco are of the terrific work that they’re doing. The next time you’re in one of our Parks and you see a JCOS Staffer or Volunteer, introduce yourself and say “thank you”.