The construction of the Poudre River Trail (PRT) through Fort Collins has been completed. With a public opening of the last segment planned for Monday, Nov. 25, the Northern Colorado region is close to having full connectivity from Bellvue to Greeley via PRT.
The final section of paved trail in Fort Collins runs southeast from Colorado State University’s Environmental Learning Center (ELC), connecting to the existing trail on the north side of Rigden Reservoir. Separate trail segments connecting from Arapaho Bend Natural Area to I-25 and from the ELC to the Great Western Railroad Crossing were also recently completed. With these trail segment completions, users will now be able to continuously travel the PRT from Bellvue to Timnath.
“The City of Fort Collins is fortunate to have many valuable partnerships in our community who have helped us bring the Poudre River Trail to completion,” says Greg Oakes, co-project manager and landscape architect for the City of Fort Collins. “I’m proud to be a part of a legacy project like this and excited for all the benefits it will bring to those who enjoy using the trail.”
The first segment of the Poudre River Trail in Northern Colorado was completed in 1978. Work has been ongoing since that time in communities along the Front Range. The more recent trail connections are made possible thanks to a $2 million Great Outdoors Colorado Connect Initiative Program grant awarded in 2019 and partnerships with the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources, City of Fort Collins, the towns of Windsor and Timnath and the Colorado Department of Transportation.
“We are very thankful to the many collaborators involved in trail building, including Colorado State University and the Great Western Railroad (OmniTrax). They are integral partners who enabled the city to construct this portion of trail on their lands and complete these connections,” says Dave “DK” Kemp, senior trails planner and co-project manager. “Our partnerships provided a unique opportunity to build a city trail on state land and on, and along, a historic, active rail line.”
As construction timelines are finalized on remaining PRT segments in the region, a celebratory event will be announced in coordination with partner organizations in the future. To learn more about this project, visit fcgov.com/parkplanning/poudretrail.