Progress on the Little Rainbow Trail

Little Rainbow Trail Map - download

The proposed Little Rainbow is a 5-mile, non-motorized trail at the base of Methodist Mountain. This natural surfaced trail will lie just below the “powerline road”, and extend roughly from Castle Gardens to the east to County Road 110 at its western end.

The Little Rainbow will connect two existing trails, the Racetrack and the Skull Trail, and will be an important linkage in the development of additional trails on Methodist Mountain. The trail lies entirely on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and was approved in the 2008 Arkansas River Travel Management Plan. Appropriate uses of this trail will include hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.

Work which has been completed on the trail to date includes trail reconnaissance, flagging of the proposed trail route, and development of a GPS shape file. The BLM has constructed two trailhead parking areas to allow access to this system which are located at the end of “Burmac” road off Hwy 50, and on CR 110, near the powerline. In constructing the trail, a “hybrid” approach will be utilized, including community volunteers, youth conservation groups, and professional trail builders.

Thanks to local BLM representatives, mechanized equipment will be allowed for the initial work, which will markedly reduce construction time. A cost estimate to build this trail is around $40,000. We have currently secured funds from the City of Salida, Chaffee County, and private donations for approximately 75% of this cost. We are actively pursuing funds to pay for the remainder. You can help by participating in our “Buy a Foot of Trail” program or by donating directly to SPOT (Salida Parks Open Space and Trails) and designating your contribution to go to the Little Rainbow Construction Fund.

Frontside Trail is complete!

Thanks to the many FABULOUS volunteers who helped SMT get this finished.

A plan for building new singletrack on BLM land near Tenderfoot Hill north of downtown Salida has been approved, and building is underway! Contact Tom Purvis for details about how to roll up your sleeves and get with the program!

We've been working with the BLM since they started the Arkansas River TMP in 2004. Our trails master plan is part of it, and now that it's been implemented we are good to go! Check out some of our new projects, and then go up there and see them for yourself!

Salida Mountain Trails: where Salidans will make memories and teach their children to love the land

Along the slopes of S-Mountain, up Ute Trail, down Deadhorse and Cottonwood Gulches is an area literally in Salida's back yard. Trail runners, cyclists, hikers, and dog walkers know that there's treasure within minutes of downtown Salida.

Between Dead Goat Gulch and Longfellow Gulch north of downtown Salida is arid, rugged public land. The sandy, rocky soil that grows thin, tough vegetation makes the area perfect for trails. The soil drains well, and the terrain makes for interesting trail routes. And since this area is on the warm side of the Arkansas Valley, much of the land stays relatively warm and snow-free during the winter.

Many Salidans already love this area, and use the trails that exist on a daily basis. Why change anything at all? Why not simply work the existing trails into the new BLM BLM Travel Management Plan and continue using them as always? Because the trails are too steep, rocky, and difficult for many trail users, and it can be difficult to find trails and trail junctions since there are no signs and few "official" routes. The existing trails do not form a trail system.

We would like to plan and build a system of concentric loop trails. Options for easy, moderate, or more difficult trail routes will be available from two or more starting places. There will be maps, marked intersections, interpretive signs, and hopefully restrooms and a camping area.

Trail ready, printable Map - download

Why have a Trails Park?

We're proud of Salida. It's a friendly, pretty little town surrounded by some of the most beautiful country found in the Rocky Mountains. We celebrated our town's riverfront a few years ago by cleaning it up, building a whitewater park, and making the banks of the Arkansas into a place everyone, boaters and non-boaters, could enjoy.

A few hundred feet from the River Park, there is one gravel road and one singletrack trail that can be used to access miles and miles of beautiful public land. You have to know where to look for the singletrack trail to use it. The road is fine, but you have to watch for motor vehicles and you have to make your way past short hill-climb side-roads, trash, and broken glass to get to the natural public land.

People in Salida could not imagine seeing someone dump trash along the river, but that was common practice not so many years ago. The whitewater park is a source of civic pride. It would be unthinkable to degrade it. If we treat our close-in public land as a source of pride, a park, it will become unthinkable for people to dump trash, drive vehicles off the track, or otherwise degrade it. This will be a place to bring children and grandchildren for a walk or a bike ride. It will be a place to send visitors where we know they'll find the trail and get to explore the land we love and cherish.