Gateway to public lands from BV River Park seeing more than 140K users a year; project makes trail repairs and upgrades
The Town of Buena Vista will begin a trail project later this fall to address erosion, safety concerns, congestion and additional issues on the popular Whipple Trail, which begins on the east side of the town bridge over the Arkansas River.
More than 140,000 trail users crossed the bridge in 2021, according to Bureau of Land Management trail counter data tallied by the Buena Vista Singletrack Coalition (BVSC).
The Whipple Bridge and Trail are the gateways from the Buena Vista River Park to a large system of non-motorized, multi-use trails in the Midland area of the Fourmile Travel Management Area. The trail connects municipal lands to public lands and is among the busiest in Colorado.
Use of the bridge and trail continues to grow. An average of 600 people per day were counted in July — a 20% increase over the prior year.
The trail is in dire need of repair and upgrades to protect its users and the natural environment, said Earl Richmond, recreation special projects manager for the town.
The trail parallels the east side of the river about 50 feet above the water, with no official access to the river. “As a result, numerous user-created social trails loosen soil and cause erosion and sediment deposition into the water,” Richmond said.
The social trails direct stormwater runoff toward the river, taking trail tread, trash and dog feces along for the ride. The trail in many places is too narrow for pedestrians to safely pass.
Improvements on the first 1,500 feet will widen the trail to industry standards and enhance the tread sustainability, as problem areas will be rerouted.
Three official paths to the river and two viewpoint overlooks will be established over the third-mile section to replace user-created routes. Restoration efforts and signage will prevent future resource damage and sediment issues.
The town was awarded a $44,700 Chaffee Common Ground grant for the project. BVSC has donated $10,000, and the Town of Buena Vista has budgeted $15,500.
“The trail upgrades will improve access to our beautiful river for a wider range of users and make it safer because there will be enough room to pass each other,” said BVSC Board Chair Kelly Collins, who also chairs the town’s trails advisory board.
A Southwest Conservation Corps crew completed preliminary project work this spring, trimming branches and building retaining walls to support the wider trail, open up viewpoints and improve the sloping path to the BV Whitewater Park Staircase Wave.
The project is slated for completion at the end of November. For trail access updates, go to https://www.facebook.com/BVParksandRec.
Whipple Trail restoration is one of the top projects in the Chaffee County Outdoor Recreation Management Plan. It prioritizes critical infrastructure needs to address growing outdoor recreation use and its impacts.
The project is located in one of the plan’s Community Concentration Zones, designated to focus development and improvements around the county’s populated centers to support continued quality outdoor experiences while protecting the natural environment.