Dreaming of singletrack: Trails Alliance hopes to turn West End into mtb destination

This article originally appeared in the Montrose Daily press By Kylea Henseler kyleah@montrosepress.com October 27, 2023

From mining and railroads to ranching, the Western Slope has been discovered over the years as a place where industries can thrive thanks to the unique landscape and natural resources. Recently, another industry has sprung up here for a similar reason: outdoor recreation.

Now, a group of hiking and biking enthusiasts in Montrose County’s West End is hoping to boost the area’s economy by ambitiously building up the area’s outdoor infrastructure.

The plan? Build 54 miles of new, high-quality singletrack within the Sawtooth and Naturita Flats areas over the next five years. Trails would be accessible from Naturita, and West End Trails Alliance founding and board member Paul Koski explained they could provide a boon for both Naturita and Nucla.

“It’s going to be pretty exciting,” he said. While Koski will be happy to have more riding opportunities, he said his motivation is personal, too, as a decades-long resident of Nucla. 

“Having lived here for 44 years and seen hard economic times, I view it as economic development,” he said. “But I appreciate good trails.”

He said having a destination trail system will support jobs and local businesses by bringing tourists to town and could attract new businesses and investment in the area. 

The project itself, with a liberal projected price tag of $1.9 million, would be quite the investment. But, Koski doesn’t want to scare anyone off with those numbers; the estimate factors in primarily professional trail building, and he believes a significant portion of the work can be done by volunteer crews. 

WETA, which focuses primarily on human-powered recreation like hiking and biking, is driving the project forward. It’s already completed cultural archeological studies of the landscape, and drawn up a preliminary trail plan. 

Koski is hoping the group will finalize the trail plan by spring, and begin construction by next winter. He said while trail composition may change, the location and approximate mileage will remain the same.

The project will be primarily grant-funded, and Koski said WETA will fundraise locally and seek larger state grants from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Greater Outdoors Colorado. 

Due to the scale of the project, construction will need to be completed in phases. Koski thinks volunteers can do much of the  work, though some segments will require professional builders and equipment. 

Current plans call for a mix of trails suitable to different riding styles and skill levels. Koski explained the system will take advantage of the area’s grade, and feature at least a few climbing trails from which multiple descents can branch off. 

“It’s going to offer such a variety of riding experience,” Koski said.

The system will include cross-country style trails as well as gravity-fed downhill trails. While there will be a few beginner/green trails, most will be intermediate (blue) or advanced (black) according to the current proposal. 

WETA is working with the Bureau of Land Management, which is the land manager for the proposed areas, as well as the Telluride Foundation as a major funder and supporter of the project. 

While there’s already plenty of riding to be done in the West End, Koski explained this will be the first major development of a purpose-built trail system intended for mountain biking — though parts of it will also be available for horseback riding, hiking and motorized uses.

The West End’s existing trail network is a web of historic trails, including old mining and access roads and cow trails. He calls the terrain “adventure riding”

“They were not designed for mountain biking … but they’re still a lot of fun,” Koski said. 

The new trail plan takes inspiration from nearby systems including the Ridgway Area Trails, Moab Brand Trails and Loma’s Kokopelli Trails.

Koski said while the West End doesn’t yet, and may never, have the same name recognition as adventure destinations like Telluride, just a few years ago Palisade and Fruita were also relatively new to the mountain biking map.

“It’s just a matter of time for the West End to get discovered,” he said.