Happy Earth Day!
Earth month is in full swing! In the Pikes Peak region, there have already been four volunteer cleanups that have pulled 50+ bags of trash from parks ranging from Fountain to Palmer Park! There have also been 8 volunteer workdays providing maintenance to some of the region’s favorite trails. With ten days left in Earth Month, there are still plenty of ways for you to get involved!- April 22: Friends of Fox Run will be celebrating Earth Day with a light trail work day. Meeting at the Roller Coaster Trailhead at 10:00 am. If you have questions please contact friendsoffoxrun@gmail.com.
- Three Parks in Three Days! The Friends of Ute Valley Park, Friends of Peregrine Parks and Open Spaces and Guardians of Palmer Park are teaming up to do workdays in Blodgett (April 22nd), Palmer Park (April 23rd) and Ute Valley Park (April 24th). There will be post-work celebrations at sponsoring breweries!
- April 30th: The Great American Cleanup – Fountain Creek Watershed This one-day cleanup offers people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to do their part in making our trails, parks, open spaces, and waterways cleaner and safer for all to enjoy.
Check out the Open Space Volunteer Calendar for more volunteer opportunities!
PARK AND TRAIL News
Rainbow Falls is Closed
Rainbow Falls Historic Site is popular with residents and visitors. Scheduled to open earlier this month, Rainbow Falls remains closed due to unsafe conditions for vehicles involving falling rocks. EPC Parks Staff will be contracting with a private company to assess the problem and come up with a solution. And will be looking for alternatives to add additional parking.
Blodgett Parking Lot Update
A new gate has been installed at Blodgett Open Space. Both parking lots will be gated nightly to help reduce unauthorized after-hour access which has led to vandalism and defacement of city property. Gates like these have been successful in securing park properties in other locations, including Palmer Park, Garden of the Gods and North Cheyenne Cañon Park.
Boulder & Thorndale Park
The sports/tennis courts at Boulder Park and Thorndale Park are finally being replaced! Over the past week, construction crews removed the old surface and old concrete foundations. The new courts that will be finished this summer.
Incline Friends Bottle Exchange
Sat. April 23, 6:00 – 9:00 AM
In celebration of Earth day, one day later, Incline Friends will be at the base of the Incline Saturday morning for a bottle exchange promoting Leave No Trace principals. Anyone with an off-the-shelf, commercial bottle of water can pour that water into a brand new, thoroughly-washed, reusable water bottle and walk away with that bottle for free. The empty commercial bottles will be recycled.
Waldo Canyon
Eric Swab offers a fascinating account of the man behind one of the region’s most beloved canyons. A man who swallowed documents, got into gun-fights, had several near-death experiences, borrowed money 14 times and it would seem attempted to swindle the federal government.
TOSC
Starlight Spectacular is Back!
August 13, 2022 8:00pm – Midnight
The Starlight Spectacular is back, after a two-year respite, and it will look different! You will not want to miss out on this redesigned event that will give walkers, runners, and cyclists a unique nighttime experience in Garden of the Gods. Light up yourselves, your bikes (and eBikes) and your friends and be prepared for a SPECTACULAR event. Individuals, teams and families welcome. Food, games and festivities (including a costume contest!) are all part of the fun. Come experience a Spectacular night at the Garden of the Gods.
Limited tickets will go on sale on Monday, May 16 mark your calendars!
We are thrilled to have Heuberger Subaru return as the Presenting Sponsor for the 2022 Starlight Spectacular. We are thankful to Heuberger, and all of our returning sponsors for your continued support! Are you a business interested in becoming a sponsor or starting a team? Contact beth@trailsandopenspaces.org or aaron@trailsandopenspaces.org
Pikes Peak Crew Leader Training
Sat. April 30th & Sun. May 1st
The Pikes Peak Regional Crew Leader Training (PPRCLT) is an intensive weekend-long training for experienced volunteers who are interested in becoming certified Volunteer Crew Leaders. While in the training, participants will learn how to lead safe, successful trail projects and develop basic trail construction and restoration skills. The training is organized in partnership with Trails and Open Space Coalition, Rocky Mountain Field Institute, and Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services.
More Info at www.rmfi.org/crew-leader-training or click here to register.
Community
Motorless MorningSat. April 30, 5:00 AM to 12:00 PM
It’s the kick-off to another great season of multi-modal car-free activation of Garden of the Gods Park. Come enjoy a morning of walking, running, skating, riding and rolling! Dogs are also welcome on leash!
This unique opportunity to experience Garden of the Gods without motor vehicles has been an incredibly popular activity and we thank the Parks department for continuing the events this year. Our partners at Bike Colorado Springs have been instrumental in providing volunteers for this event and they would appreciate it if you’d consider taking a shift, you can enjoy the event before or after volunteering. The only way events like this are able to happen is because of many great volunteers! Please contact Paula Krantz, rckhpr55@gmail.com to help out.
To find out more about Motorless Morning and the series of Early Bird Hike & Bike events planned throughout the Summer, please visit coloradosprings.gov.
Spring Fling Poker 5K Ride and RunSat. April 30, 8:30 – 12:00 PM
Join the Friends of the Equestrian Skills Course for the 3rd Spring Fling Poker 5K Ride and Run! All ages welcome (special game for kids) High- and low-hand prizes for each trail user group – horses, pack burros, bicycles, walkers and runners. Tickets are only $20 in advance or $30 day of event. All proceeds directly benefit the building and maintenance of the Equestrian Skills Course at Bear Creek Park.
Summer of Service
Mile High Youth Corps’ Land Conservation Program is currently seeking young adults, ages 18-24, who are interested in joining their volunteer team for the season. Summer of Service is 12 or 14 week-long program (May – August) where Corps members work on stewardship projects on public lands. No experience is required! Mile High Youth Corps will provide hands-on training for all projects.
THE SAFETY STOP IS NOW LAW STATEWIDE
Bicyclists in Colorado now have a safe and legal option for navigating through intersections after Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado House Bill 22-1028 into law on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The new law, which allows bicyclists and users of “low speed conveyances” to treat stop signs as yield signs and stop lights as stop signs when they already have the right of way, goes into effect immediately statewide.
Learn more at bikecoloradosprings.org.
Volunteers – Worth a Lot!Do you volunteer? You may be more valuable than you think! The new value of volunteer time is now $29.95 per hour according to the Independent Sector and the Do Good Institute. That’s a 4.9% increase from 2020 to 2021.
To celebrate National Volunteer Week, COS Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services honored volunteers from throughout the community and declared Michele McMurray their Volunteer of the year. Michele has volunteered for Garden of the Gods for the past 11 years, provided more than 1,000 hours of service at the visitor information desk. Plus she presents a bighorn sheep program and runs a falcon bird watching program each summer. Thank you Michele and all the park volunteers in our region!