MEETING NOTES
Hybrid in-person at Colorado Parks and Wildlife Office and online. Posted for the group to reference.
Pikes Peak Outdoors Hoedown
Sunday, September 14, 3–6 p.m., Bancroft Park, Old Colorado City
- Tickets still needed from people who plan to attend
- Auction went live yesterday; bidding closes Sunday at 6 p.m. More packages coming (including Women’s Mountain Bike Association and others)
- Two rounds of instructed line dancing; starting with Copperhead Road
- Food trucks, donated beer (including Belgium), sodas, Athletic Brewing
- Second year of awards; recipients chosen by last year’s honorees; awards by Mike Britney
- Partners tabling, including ambassadors
- Details and QR codes in yesterday’s newsletter (check spam)
City Parks System Master Plan survey
- Open through September 22
- Council asked everyone to take it and share it
- Next steps from IMBA are framed
- Kickoff meeting targeted for next week or early the following week; PPO following up to lock attendees
- Formal application follows the kickoff
- Fundraising underway
- Media kit available (suggested posts, images, logo placement); will go to the whole group
- Video game created; goal is to build public momentum
Ambassador program (RPI / RMFI partnership)
- On the ground since early June across Colorado Springs Parks, El Paso County, Forest Service near Cañon City, Fremont County, and Teller County
- Fall plan: move higher as leaves change; overnight trips in Fremont and Teller; campsites with BLM and Forest Service
- Ambassadors: Jen, Michaela, and Carrie
- Vehicles: branded Bronco Sports via Phil Long
- Role: outreach and education (Leave No Trace), no enforcement; eyes on the ground for land managers; dog-waste and maintenance issues
- Working with Ryan Dull / State of the Trails on OHV education; COTREX swag already in use
- Data: moving from Microsoft Forms to ArcGIS Survey123 with Matt Gottfried / UCCS; intern helping analysis; destination is the PPO Data Hub
- Example impact: social trail off the top of the Incline causing SAR calls; wayfinding sign funded by the program, arriving in a couple of weeks
- First tabling at the Hoedown
PPO Data Hub and regional plan page
- DataHub holds OPPI background, city/county plans, demographics, natural history
- Regional plan page tracks projects: Ring the Peak, ambassadors, Red Canyon, Dome Rock, Ute Pass Trail, North Slope recreation, Phantom Canyon, North Slope NEPA, Ride Center
RPI / partner project updates
Bighorn Roundtable
- Meeting regularly; focus on accessibility and youth outdoors
- Letter of intent submitted; not invited to full application
- Strong on collaborative trail maintenance and wildfire work
North Slope (Colorado Springs Utilities / partners)
- Procurement documents in progress
- About 9+ miles of new singletrack plus ~1.5 miles of existing-trail improvements to pull recreation off access roads
- Desktop/CAD work done; Utilities staff reviewing; next: bid, field flagging, contractor for next year
- Funding: RPI grant, Utilities cash, Pikes Peak America’s Mountain, TOPS Trails
- TOPS money is not from the property acquisition, so events should still be possible
Ute Pass Trail
- Substantial completion targeted October; closeout December
- On schedule and on budget
- Sidewalks, curb and gutter, roadway, stormwater, widening, on-street business parking, and Chapita Park Road retaining walls complete
- Last retaining wall and guardrail at Pikes Peak Highway entrance due in the next month
- First RPI capital project expected to finish
Other RPI work
- Forest thinning / fire mitigation at Dome Rock (contracts in progress)
- Additional work at Red Canyon Campground with BLM
- Forest Service agreements in progress
Grants coordination
- PPO welcomes connecting on CPW, state, federal, and foundation applications in the three-county area
- Letters of support available; contact Stephanie
- Subcommittee / working group still being formed so letters of support are not decided only by PPO staff; volunteers welcome
E-bike field guide (Bicycle Colorado + Medicine Wheel)
- Letter of intent submitted by Bicycle Colorado
- Modeled on Trinidad-area gravel field guides
- Aimed at a new wave of e-bike riders, including RV travelers who may not identify as “cyclists”
- Planning grant would start in the Pikes Peak region / Front Range, then be replicable statewide
- Print guide plus pointers to updateable online resources
Meeting notes online
- Council agreed PPO can post meeting notes on pikespeakoutdoors.org (agenda, discussion, feedback)
- Notes will be reviewed before posting; say so in the room if something should stay off the public version
Proposition 137 (formerly Initiative 308)
- On the ballot
- PPO board voted unanimously to support
- Information is on the PPO website
- Early opposition seen so far has focused on existing state spending, not the measure itself
U.S. Forest Service travel management
- Forest Service travel management rule update, 2005 Travel Management Rule (36 CFR Part 212) — open for comment through September 23. Docket FS-2026-0100. Read the Federal Register notice.
COTREX presentation — Joe O’Brien, CPW
Free public app and map run by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Originally GOCO-funded. Partners with ~230 land managers. Official agency data only — no unsanctioned trails.
What it covers
Hiking, biking, equestrian, ATV/OHV, dirt bike, snowmobile, Nordic, snowshoe. E-bike data being collected and confirmed with agencies this year.
Newer / recent work
- Featured routes from official sources (narratives, photos, recommended loops)
- Closures and alerts (~50 agencies); fire advisories
- 100+ accessibility-focused featured routes (width, cross slope, grade, surface); larger pilot on cheaper high-fidelity field collection on the northern Front Range
- 300–400 featured routes added in about a year
- CAIC avalanche forecasts and watches
- Seasonal wildlife closures: ~150,000 acres statewide, shown dynamically; dataset available to managers and researchers
- Public transit integration launching this week or next: 20 transit authorities, 550+ stops near trailheads. Mountain Metro is included. Rule of thumb: ~1,000 feet, safe and simple walk, no highway crossings
How partners can use it
- Marketing request form: free stickers, patches, brochures, cards; event giveaways (Topo bags, Yeti, Rumpl, etc.) shipped at no charge
- Friends groups using the record feature for inspections can follow up with Joe on sharing live tracks
- Transit-stop dataset could help conversations with Mountain Metro about park access
Why promote it
Approved trails only. Complements AllTrails (photos/vibe) rather than replacing it: find a place on AllTrails, then check COTREX to see if the trail is official and open. Offline GPS useful. Strong tourism and winter-safety tool.
Round-the-room updates (non-event)
- New El Paso County Parks Director Janna Tidwell is getting out weekly on county parks, open spaces, and trails.
- Black Canyon Open Space: CPW non-motorized trails grant for a master-plan climbing trail and a pedestrian bridge from Black Canyon Road.
- Frisco is Colorado’s newest dark-sky community (23 statewide). First Pikes Peak astrophotography workshop last month; likely again next summer.
- Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort: 10-year anniversary. Park-use costs and city forestry demands are squeezing local races. Tori Giffen sits on Visit Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak Lodging Association boards and offered to connect COTREX there. Pedal the Springs Episode 49 is all Medicine Wheel.
- RMFI crews wrapping backcountry season and shifting to local parks this fall.
- Paragliding / Air Force Academy: budget work with the City and Academy; glider flight planned; two-way trackers and a server so gliders and free-flyers can see each other.
- Pikes Peak Apex: 2027 likely stays one big MTB day and one big gravel day on similar courses; unique rider count up again this year.
Upcoming events
Friday, September 11
- Youth Mental Health First Aid — Bear Creek Nature Center. Free if you work with kids; sign up through El Paso County.
- Firefighter Climb — The Incline.
Saturday, September 12
- Trail Love / Trail Workday — Black Canyon Open Space with Medicine Wheel. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Corridor clearing, bench cutting, technical rock work. Lunch from Colonel Mustard’s.
- Rampart Rager — start/finish at Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort.
Sunday, September 14
- Pikes Peak Outdoors Hoedown — Bancroft Park, 3–6 p.m. Auction closes at 6.
Weekend of September 19–20
- Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon — Manitou Springs.
Friday, September 26
- Outdoor Accessibility Day — Bear Creek Regional Park, Park Headquarters, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Vendors, therapeutic rec, Independence Center, terrain hoppers and track chairs. Contact El Paso County to table.
- National Public Lands Day — RMFI at Garden of the Gods and Austin Bluffs Open Space; Shelf Road climbing-community event with PPCA and local gyms.
Tuesday, September 23
- Deadline for Forest Service travel-management rule comments (FS-2026-0100).
Friday, October 3
- Revegetation planting near the new Blodgett Trailhead with the City. Family-friendly; trees and native seed.
