Three Poudre River Trail gaps to be filled with help of $2M GOCO grant

Image credit: Brendan Bombaci, 2014.

45 continuous miles of paved trail will soon connect Bellvue to Greeley by 2023 with the help of a $2M Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Connect Initiative grant. The grant will help fill the three remaining gaps in the Poudre River Trail, 4.7 total miles, between Fort Collins and Windsor. Work will begin this fall and be completed by 2023, shortly after CDOT constructs a trail underpass of I-25 as part of the Poudre River bridge replacement.

The Poudre River Trail is Regional Non-Motorized Corridor (RNMC) #6, as designated by the NFRMPO, and is part of the Colorado Front Range Trail, which will eventually connect New Mexico to Wyoming along Colorado's Front Range.

The Poudre River Trail makes dozens of connections to other regional trails, local trails, parks, schools, residential and commercial areas, natural areas and parks, and other amenities. With booming growth expected to continue through around Timnath and Windsor, the geographic heart of the NFRMPO region, the Podure River Trail's significance for transportation and recreation will increase significantly in the coming years. Partners estimate the trail draws over 300,000 visitors annually.

The successful 2019 GOCO Connect grant application was completed and submitted this summer by Larimer County, The City of Fort Collins, the Town of Timnath, and the Town of Windsor. The 2023 ribbon cutting on these new sections will mark the culmination of decades of planning, design, construction, maintenance, repair, and advocacy among countless partners.

Further east, the City of Greeley is looking to relocate the Podure River Trail's easternmost trailhead from Island Grove Park and is working on plans to continue the trail east across US85, where it will eventually link up to the American Discovery Trail around the confluence of the Poudre and South Platte Rivers.

Read more from Larimer County.