COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (July 6, 2017) . . . The Colorado Springs Trails and Open Space Coalition (TOSC) and Friends of the Peak (FOTP) announce the commencement of the Ring the Peak Trail Master Plan Process for completing the southwest 8-mile trail gap. The process seeks to engage trail users, governmental agencies, businesses, and property owners in determining the best path for the future of the popular trail network
circumnavigating Pikes Peak (America’s Mountain). Funding for the Master Plan process is made possible by a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and in-kind match funding.
Surrounding Pikes Peak between Colorado Springs and the Victor/Cripple Creek area, Ring the Peak is a collection of trails and backcountry roads, as envisioned in the 1999Pikes Peak Multi-Use Plan and adopted by FOTP. The trails cross federal, state, county, city, and private lands. The total length of the trail system is approximately 63 miles with approximately 80 percent of the route completed. One of the key focus areas of the Master Plan process will address the best alignment for connecting an 8-mile missing trail gap on the southwest side of the Peak.
Through a competitive selection process, TOSC and its partners, FOTP and the City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department, selected local land planning consultant N.E.S. Inc. and its team of specialists to lead the Master Plan process. “The N.E.S. team demonstrated a combination of technical expertise as well as a deep understanding of the importance and value of the project to local communities
and the state from a sustainability, recreation and economic vitality perspective,” said TOSC Executive Director Susan Davies. “A completed Ring the Peak trail has significant regional, state and national implications as well as tremendous opportunities for users and property owners along the trail alike,” said Davies. “This has the potential to be a national bucket-list destination so it’s exciting to see this project moving forward,” she
said.
Primary objectives of the Master Plan process include the best approach for alignment of the 8-mile missing gap on the southwest side of Pikes Peak while creating the best possible trail experience, defining a sustainable plan for managing and maintaining the entire trail into the future, and engaging citizens throughout the process. Community involvement and opportunities for public, agency and property owner engagement will begin later this fall. Ring the Peak is one of Governor John Hickenlooper’s 16 high priority trail projects, as announced last year.
For more information about TOSC, visit https://www.trailsandopenspaces.org.
For more information about FOTP visit http://www.fotp.com. Friends of the Peak’s guide to Ring the Peak, includes directions to the access points and maps and descriptions of the ten trail sections.
Once available, opportunities to participate in the Master Plan process will be listed on the TOSC and FOTP websites and through a project e-newsletter. Sign up to receive project e-newsletters by sending an email to Mike Rigney, Complete the Ring Project Manager (mrigney6@gmail.com) requesting to be added to the project contact list.
Reprint of July 6, 2017 Press Release