Trails are the literal and figurative ground upon which we built VVMTA. We have designed, created, and maintained trails in Eagle County since 2011, and we consider ourselves humble experts in this arena. Every decision we make weighs the needs of the land and our community and aims to encourage more people to get out and hit the trails. We will continue to build singletrack routes to improve resource protection, recreational opportunities, economic development, and support active citizens throughout Eagle County.
Our Trail Conservation Crew tackles the toughest, most labor intensive trail projects from May to October every year. With support from our partners at the USFS, Town of Eagle, the National Forest Foundation and your generosity, this crew tackles long-overdue projects deep in our wilderness areas and on local trails. Their focus is on trail maintenance, trail building, protecting seasonal wildlife closures, training and leading volunteers, closing illegal/social trails, designating/rehabbing campsites, communicating fire restrictions, educating trail users at trailheads, removing garbage, and generally mitigating recreational impacts on trails and public lands.
This season, the Trail Conservation has been busy! Major projects inlcude:
- Eagle Bike Park – skills area and landscaping.
- Minturn Bike Park – maintenance, jump repair and preparation for the GoPro Dual Slalom event.
- Mike’s Night Out Reroute – cleared the corridor for this new trail that will bypass the hike-a-bike.
- Abram’s Gulch Reroute – cleared the corridor and built this new trail that bypasses the old double-track, hike-a-bike for most, and provides a beautiful climbing trail as another option to Abram’s Ridge to access upper West Eagle. The trail connects into Scratch and World’s Greatest.
- Seasonal Tree Clearing – our crew worked over time to get Cougar ridge cleared on Friday June 21st for everyone to get out and enjoy. Work will continue throughout the valley through June to get all the open trails running clear.
Minturn Bike Park
Both the Eagle Bike Park and the Minturn Bike Park need consistent maintenance. Without our TCC, we wouldn’t be able to maintain this amazing park. The great thing about dirt jumps is they can be reshaped and continually improved. The trails around the bike park also got some love this month. Check out this great article written by our Sammy Chipkin that details the GoPro Dual Slalom and Jump Jam.
“I wonder if the guys who built the pyramids got to grill out in their lunch breaks.”
Mike’s Night Out Reroute
Mike’s Night Out is a popular trail for those who love adventure high up in West Eagle. You can access it by riding Firebox road to Dead Cow or by taking Cat Walk to BLM Road #8383. Ask Charlie Brown at Mountain Pedaler for the story behind the name of the trail. They lost Mike when they were scouting this trail and he indeed spent the night out. The beginning of Mike’s is a hike-a-bike (beloved by some hated by most) and so we are putting in a reroute to bypass this section. The corridor has been cleared and we’ll get to finishing up this trail this summer.
Abram’s Gulch Reroute
The TCC has been working on this project for the last couple of weeks. Abram’s Gulch is another trail that included a steep double track that was a hike-a-bike for most people. This new reroute takes a right at the creek crossing and continues up to join into Scratch and World’s Greatest at the new trail hub we are currently building. This is now a great alternate route to accessing upper West Eagle. You can either climb up Abram’s Ridge and head down to Abram’s Gulch, or ride LOV Connector from 3rd Gulch and connect to Abrams Gulch that way. It’s received a lot of rain which has really helped to pack down the dirt, but as with any new trail, variable conditions exist. Enjoy!
“Grass is always greener on the other side because you don’t take care of your own lawn.”
“Dude, the UV index is only a 7. All last week it was at like 12. You could work with your shirt off all day today and not get burned!”
-Jack Smith, Suntanning Coach
Seasonal Tree Clearing
Every year a significant number of trees come down onto the trails. The Trail Conservation Crew partners with the US Forest Service to help clear hundreds of trees each spring. The entire team is trained to use the chainsaw and it’s a good thing – if you’ve ever try to cut one with a hand saw it’s like taking a butter knife to a sword fight. We are so grateful for this partnership and are excited to get all the trails cleared for you by the end of June.
“If you’re having fun, then you’re going too fast.”
