Lake Pueblo State Park renews partnership with group dedicated to improving access for people with limited mobility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Bill Vogrin
Southeast Region Public Information Officer
719-466-3927 / [email protected]

Staff and volunteers with The Lockwood Foundation nonprofit organization use a TrailRider chair to assist a client on a hike. All photos courtesy of the The Lockwood Foundation.

March 31, 2022

Lake Pueblo renews partnership with group dedicated to improving access for people with limited mobility

PUEBLO, Colo. – Lake Pueblo State Park has renewed its partnership with a group dedicated to improving access to the outdoors for people who have limited mobility.

Park Manager Joe Stadterman recently signed a new use agreement with the Lockwood Foundation, a Colorado Springs nonprofit that uses innovative wheeled chairs to take adaptive hikers on trails through the park and even up steep mountain terrain.

“We first partnered with the Lockwood Foundation last summer and we were impressed by Jeffrey Lockwood and his team of volunteers,” Stadterman said. “We’re excited to have them back on our park this year creating opportunities for people to get out and enjoy Lake Pueblo’s trails who otherwise might not be able to access them.”

Lockwood founded his nonprofit in January 2018 after he was inspired to create a sustainable, adaptive hiking program for people who rely on wheelchairs and typically can’t access hiking  trails. 

He raised money to purchase a unique wheeled chair, called a TrailRider, which is designed to allow four people to pull and push someone up and down trails. The TrailRider has long arms in front to allow it to be pulled somewhat like a rickshaw and pushed from the rear like a wheelbarrow.

Since its inaugural 2019 season, the Lockwood Foundation has acquired four Trailriders and has hosted dozens of adaptive hikes for clients at Lake Pueblo, other Front Range locations, even tackling Mount Elbert and Quandary Peak.

“A manual wheelchair or even a powered chair has no chance of making up 99 percent of the trails in Colorado,” Lockwood said. “From my work caring for people with disabilities, and my experience as a mountain guide, I knew there was a need for this service.”

The agreement with Lake Pueblo gives the Lockwood Foundation unlimited access to bring clients into the park and ride its trails.

For more information on the Lockwood Foundation, visit its website: thelockwoodfoundation.org/