(COLORADO SPRINGS) – It’s taken ten years and hours of work from volunteers, but the Dixon trail, which will allow hikers to reach the summit of Cheyenne Mountain, is nearly complete.
“It’s really been a community effort to make this trail a reality,” commented Joe Lavorini with the Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI)
Volunteers, non-profits and various organizations have helped make the trail a reality over its ten years of construction.
“You walk up to this section of land, where there’s no trail. It’s not exactly virgin forest, but you walk up to this wooded area and through the day, the crew of volunteers builds a trail through there, and it looks like it’s been there for years. And you did it,” commented Carol Beckman, a member of the Colorado Springs parks and recreation advisory board and a longtime outdoor restoration volunteer.
The RMFI started building at the top of the mountain, and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado are developing the bottom portion of the trail.
“This year we are happy to meet in the middle, hammer in the golden spike and get this thing complete,” Lavorini said.
The final piece, a several acre parcel of land needed to connect both ends of the trial was not available to be bought, until groups struck a deal on Thursday.
The purchase of the easement is set to happen this summer and cost around $16,000, a cost Colorado Springs Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) will split with one of its non-profit partners.
“So we have a partnership where TOPS will pay for half and the Friends of the Cheyenne Mountain will pay for half,” said Britt Haley with Colorado Springs Trails, Open Space and Parks.
Once purchased, the trail should be finished in about two months.
“And once they actually do it, [they’re] talking about maybe September or October for the trail opening,” finished Carol.
