State restoring 12 summit trails on Colorado 14ers, investing in more outdoor recreation opportunities for Coloradans

Joey Livingston
Statewide Public Information Officer
303-345-4658 / [email protected]

DENVER — Today, Governor Polis and Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that the Non-Motorized Trail Grant Program recently awarded $2,438,000 for 26 projects that will connect Coloradans and visitors to the outdoors with new and improved opportunities to get outside, including restoring trails on 12 of Colorado’s 14ers. The Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the grants during the March 2025 PWC meeting.

“Our iconic 14ers will now be even more accessible and safe to summit! In Colorado, we are focused on expanding outdoor recreational opportunities for all Coloradans, while protecting our natural resources and public lands. This funding will help Coloradans  have fun, get outside, and be active while protecting our awe-inspiring natural landscapes, keeping Colorado beautiful for generations to come,” said Governor Polis. 

The Non-Motorized Trails Grant Program is a multi-agency partnership that includes CPW, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Colorado Lottery, and the Federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP).

“We're excited to announce these Non-Motorized Trail Grants that will empower local agencies to create and maintain accessible trails while prioritizing wildlife conservation,” said CPW Director Jeff Davis. “Our agency is tasked with providing wildlife management and world-class outdoor recreation opportunities. To deliver on this mission, we recognize that recreation and conservation goals can often support each other, and that funding partnerships with other organizations and agencies across the state are critical to accomplish those goals.

Last year, a new Trail Stewardship pilot program with additional support from Great Outdoors Colorado was launched. This program provides funding specifically to support trail stewardship crews hired by land managers and nonprofits who focus on maintenance work throughout Colorado. This year, the State Trails Program received $1,500,000 in funding from Great Outdoors Colorado.

“As we continue to see increased use and natural disasters impact our outdoor spaces, we are fortunate to partner with Great Outdoors Colorado to launch a new opportunity to fund stewardship crews who are caring for trails across the state,” said CPW Assistant Director of Outdoor Recreation and Lands, Fletcher Jacobs. “These increased 'boots on the ground' trail crews will help support the Governor’s Wildly Important Goals to balance conservation and recreation by increasing the number of trail crew hours funded by the State Trails Program.”

2025 Grant Stats

Construction
3 grants totaling $575,000           

Maintenance
10 grants totaling $1,089,281

Planning/Support
8 grants totaling $280,023

Trail Stewardship
5 grant totaling $493,710

Some of the highlights from this year’s awarded projects include:

Statewide 14ers Trail Maintenance 2025 (Maintenance grant)
The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative was awarded a $250,000 grant to reconstruct and restore 12 summit trails on 14,000-foot peaks. The will include basic maintenance, intensive trail reconstruction and thousands of feet of closure/restoration. Reconstruction will include boardwalk repair, backwall supporting tundra beds, installation of timer check and rock steps.

The 12 summit trails included in the maintenance plan include: 

• Mt. Bierstadt 
• Mt. Blue Sky
• Quandary Peak
• Mt. Democrat
• Mt. Princeton
• Mt. Massive
• Capitol Peak
• Mt. Columbia
• San Luis Peak
• Redcloud Peak
• Wetterhorn Peak
• Mt. Sneffels

Countywide Trail Maintenance Crew (Trail Stewardship grant)
Headwaters Trails Alliance was awarded an $89,040 grant to fund a four-to-six-person trail crew to maintain the 450 miles of trail in Grand County. This project will focus on assessing and addressing issues (deadfall and drainage), trail planning, drainage clearing and repair, and vegetation management. Work includes structure repair, replacement, and/or new construction (turnpikes, boardwalks, etc.), retread, regrading, outsloping, decommissioning, restoration and hazard tree clearing. 

Trail Conservation Services (Trail Stewardship grant)
A $150,000 grant was awarded to the Colorado Mountain Bike Association to fund a trail stewardship crew of five to seven seasonal workers focused on addressing the backlog of maintenance of natural surface area trails, primarily in the recreation areas of the national forests that serve residents and visitors of the central Front Range. Work will focus on high-priority trails in the most heavily-used areas. COMBA’s trail crews have repaired and maintained more than 300 miles of trail, ensuring that these systems remain safe and accessible for the thousands of people who use them each year.

2025 Crested Butte Conservation Corps (Trail Stewardship grant)
The Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association was awarded a $75,000 grant. The crews will assist land managers, stakeholders, municipalities, and open space partners in the stewardship and maintenance of trails and sustainable recreation in the north end of the Gunnison Valley. The work will include removing fallen trees blocking access to trails and roads, creating drainage structures to mitigate water on trails from snowmelt and runoff, armoring trails to provide a hardened surface for sustainability, and other general maintenance needed to provide a sustainable trail network.

Mesa County Trail Sustainability (Trail Stewardship grant)
Mesa County Public Health was awarded a $123,685 grant to fund a year-round 5 person trail crew. Efforts will focus on persistent resource degradation from user and environmental created conditions and concentrate on closing social trails in Grand Valley. This work will focus on beginner trails to lessen the barrier to entry in local outdoor recreation. Work will include narrowing tread width where trail users have widened it, construction and maintenance of drainage structures, corridor clearing, rock work, revegetation and invasive species management also factor into the day-to-day activities.

Routt County Riders/Hahn’s Peak Bear’s Ears Trail Crew 2025 (Maintenance grant)
Routt County Riders was awarded a $55,985 grant to fund a 2-person addition to the USFS Hahn’s Peak/Bear’s Ears Non-Motorized Trail Crew to conduct maintenance of almost 400 miles of trail across the region. The crew will focus on significant and heavy maintenance projects that have been identified and planned for in advance. The crew will start work on lower elevation trails, including a volunteer event day to clear accessible trails in the Dry Lake Area. This project will focus on maintaining access to these trails that are important to the local communities, state residents, and the American people at large.

Austin Bluffs Open Space Improvements (Construction grant)
The City of Colorado Springs was awarded a $250,000 grant to construct 2.65 miles of trail in the Austin Bluffs Open Space. Work includes new wayfinding, trailhead improvements, and illegal trail closure. The project will create a multi-use, multi direction single track trail and a ¼ mile Enlightenment Hiking Only Trail to the summit of Pulpit Rock. Work also includes decommissioning and restoring illegal trails, and additional trailhead work to improve and designate parking in two main lots.

Backcountry Trail Maintenance Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness (Maintenance grant)
Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers was awarded a $148,566 grant to support two years of priority trail maintenance on seven trails in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. One area of focus will be on part of the Avalanche Creek Trail where a crossing has not been accessible for several years due to a bridge washing out. RFOV plans to maintain 15-18 miles of remote wilderness trail by installing drainage/erosion features (log or rock check dams, waterbars, retaining walls), and improving degraded tread. Trail crew work will be completed by a 4-person trail crew and volunteers.

Toivo Malm Trail Maintenance (Maintenance grant)
San Luis Valley Great Outdoors (SLV GO!) was awarded a $66,534 grant to mitigate future yearly maintenance on the Toivo Malm Trail (a prized birding area) by laying two miles of crusher fine to ensure the trail is accessible year round. Additionally, a 280 ft. boardwalk will be developed for a portion of the trail that holds moisture during monsoon seasons, alleviating side paths created by users. The trail is a highly used community trail on Alamosa’s southeast side. SLV GO! works with community members to identify and meet the needs of that community to enhance overall health and wellness and sustain the region’s natural resources.

Poudre River Trail Realignment & Trailhead Design (Planning grant)
The City of Greeley was awarded a $45,000 grant for design, engineering and construction plans for rerouting 600 linear feet of the existing Poudre River Trail due to river migration impacts. The project will also include the development of a new trailhead at N. 59th Ave. Amenities at the trailhead may include 20-30 parking spaces, an information kiosk, vault toilet, bike parking, benches, shade structures with tables, landscaping and trail connections to nearby regional trails.

A complete list of the Recreational Trail Grants is available here. 

About the grant process
The Colorado Recreational Trails Committee is responsible for the review process for the trail grant applications and makes recommendations to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission regarding funding for grants.

The grant selection process follows a three-tiered recommendation and approval process. Applications are first evaluated and scored by a grant subcommittee made up of volunteer outside reviewers, State Trails Committee members, and trails program staff, who rank the applications in an order of recommended funding priorities. The ranked applications are submitted to the State Trails Committee which evaluates and recommends projects to the Parks and Wildlife Commission.