AHRA sets Oct. 1 for “Bike Your Park Day” celebration on Stage & Rail Trail
Bill Vogrin
Sept. 28, 2022
AHRA sets Oct. 1 for “Bike Your Park Day” celebration on Stage & Rail Trail
SALIDA, Colo. – Two guided bicycle rides are planned Saturday, Oct. 1, as the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) partners with the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (GARNA) to celebrate “Bike Your Park Day” – part of a national celebration of the joys of bicycling in parks and public lands.
AHRA and GARNA invite the public to join the free Stage & Rail Trail Bicycle Ride on a 14-mile, one-way ride from Leadville to Hayden Meadows Reservoir, adjacent to U.S. Highway 24 about 10 miles south of Leadville. The Hayden Meadows Recreation Area has restrooms, fishing docks and picnic tables as well as ADA-accessible interpretive trails, five wetland boardwalks and two bridges surrounding the 7-acre pond.
The 14-mile trail is recommended for intermediate to advanced riders based on steep, rough sections and dirt sections of trail.
Others can join a planned 6-mile ride on the High Lonesome Loop, ending at Hayden Reservoir. It’s a mostly flat and smooth trail with interpretive exhibits along the route.
Not a biker? The AHRA suggests exploring the 6-mile loop on foot.
Shuttle service provided by Absolute Bikes will be available, for a $5 fee, to take participants from Salida and Buena Vista to Leadville. The shuttles will leave at 8:15 a.m. from Absolute Bikes, 330 W Sackett Ave., in Salida, and at 8:45 a.m. from McPhelemy Park in Buena Vista. Pre-registration for the shuttle is required.
The guided 14-mile ride starts at Leadville’s Ice Palace Park, 10th and Harrison Street, at 9:30 a.m. The guided 6-mile ride begins at 10 a.m. at Hayden Reservoir. A return shuttle to Leadville will leave the area at 11:30 a.m. to return riders to Leadville, Buena Vista and Salida.
The Stage and Rail Trail follows historic stagecoach road and railroad corridors from Salida to Leadville and runs parallel to the Arkansas River along 70 miles.
To learn more or to register for the event, visit the GARNA’s website at: garna.org/calendar/bike-your-park-day-on-the-stage-rail-trail/
The Adventure Cycling Association, a nonprofit bicycling organization, created Bike Your Park Day in 2016 and celebrates it annually on the last weekend in September. It inspires thousands of people in all 50 states and a dozen countries to get out and enjoy their favorite parks.
You can also call AHRA at 719-539-7289. Or visit the Visitor Center at the corner of G and Sackett Streets in Salida.
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The AHRA stretches 152 miles along the Arkansas River from Leadville to Pueblo. It is managed through a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Formed in 1989, this partnership allows agencies to provide visitors with recreation opportunities and care for significant natural resources of the upper Arkansas River valley.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.