The City of Steamboat Springs and its Accommodations Tax (2A) Trail Committee are excited to announce the soft opening of the Morning Gloria trail on Emerald Mountain today. Construction of the trail is complete, with a few punch list items that will be completed once the trail has been “ridden in.” The public is invited to hike and bike the Morning Gloria trail beginning today. Equestrian users are requested to wait until summer 2015 when the trail surface is compacted from use before utilizing the trail. A formal ribbon cutting for the trail will be held next week.
All trail users are requested to respect trail rules, other users and wildlife when using the trail. Trail users are also asked to stay on the Morning Gloria trail and to not create any informal trails in the area opened up for access with the Morning Gloria trail.
The Morning Gloria Trail has been designed and constructed as a new sustainable multi use non-motorized recreational trail on Emerald Mountain. The trail is approximately 4.2 miles in length and has an average grade less than 10%. The trail width is a minimum of 36 inches wide to accommodate hand cyclists. The Morning Gloria Trail was named after the late Gloria Gossard, a longtime Steamboat resident and philanthropist. Much of the trail is located on land that she donated to the City. The top of the trail is located on top of Emerald Mountain near the Quarry Mountain Trail and will drop down under the Quarry and tie into the Lupine Trail.
The Morning Gloria Trail was funded through a grant of $102,775 from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) with additional funding of $58,000 from the City’s Accommodations Tax Fund. This is the first trail to be constructed with Accommodations Tax dollars. It was constructed by Routt County Riders, who won a competitive bid for the process. Crews from the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and Steamboat Springs Community Youth Corps assisted with the project.
For more information, contact Parks, Open Space and Recreation at 970-879-4300.