Adopt-a-Trail
With the warmth of summer comes the joy of hiking and mountain biking in Grand County, home to one of the most extensive trail systems in Colorado.
Fraser Valley formed the first ever mountain bike Adopt-A-Trail program in the country. This program thrives today and has expanded to include all user groups for both summer and winter. All trails are solely maintained by volunteers from local businesses and individuals who adopt and take care of them. More and more people are enjoying the great outdoors; therefore, more and more impact is put on the trails. If it weren’t for the Adopt-A-Trail program in the Fraser Valley, our trails would not be as nice as they are.
Because of the intensive use the trails receive, coupled with continued budget cuts within most land management agencies, the need exists for groups and individuals to play a part in caring for trails throughout Grand County. That is where the Headwaters Trails Alliance (HTA) Grand County Adopt-A-Trail Program (AATP) steps in.
In conjunction with the US Forest Service and other land management agencies, HTA’s AATP gives businesses, groups and individuals the opportunity to become stewards for the trails and provide the volunteer labor and resources needed to maintain them.
You too can volunteer your time. After all, we spend so much time riding and hiking the trails, why not give some time back to improve them. Add to your “summer fun badges” by spending a day working on a trail. Volunteers need only provide time and enthusiasm to keep the trails in good repair.
For more information on this program, please contact the Headwaters Trails Alliance at (970) 887-3255 or check out their web site at www.headwaterstrails.com. Volunteers are also needed for trail days sponsored by the Red Cross, Forest Service, local businesses, and on National Trails Day. Call (970) 887-4100 for details.
GuestGuide® Publications has adopted three trails. A portion of all proceeds from the sale of The Official Hiking Guide to Grand County™ goes towards their maintenance. Volunteers helped build a much needed footbridge over Cabin Creek on the Devil’s Thumb trail. The pride on everyone’s face when they had finished told the entire story. We have also worked on the heavily used trail to St. Louis Lake and Byers Peak. The volunteers come from Denver to Granby, ages seven to sixty. At the end of the day we had great pride in “our bridge” and “our trail” and the volunteers all asked, “What do we get to do next year?” Enjoying a hike in the great outdoors is important, but so is taking responsibility for the care of those trails.
When you come to a bridge in the middle of the woods, enjoy it and remember it is there because of volunteers who took time to build it.
