Across Colorado Springs’ outdoors, the new year will see new trails and progress toward new destinations. “There’s a lot of great stuff coming up,” said David Deitemeyer, senior administrator for the city’s Trails, Open Space and Parks program.  He recently highlighted projects anti cipated for 2026 following a visit to one of the most anticipated project sites: Blodgett Open Space.  There, in rolling terrain overlooked by Pikeview Quarry, crews have been expanding trails outlined in a master plan approved in 2024. Deitemeyer said he expected 14 miles of new and improved trails to be finished close to summertime. That will include several mountain bike-only trails to be accessed from a new trailhead and parking lot at the base of the old quarry that has steadily turned green from reclamation.  Hikers along the trail in the southern portion of Blodgett Open Space in Colorado Springs. (Photo courtesy City of Colorado Springs) With the new trails, Deitemeyer said he foresaw “a destination for mountain bikers that I am hopeful will reduce some conflicts on the current trail system.” To be built for 50 vehicles, the new trailhead here on the southern end of Blodgett Open Space figures to be a launchpoint for hikers and trail runners as well, with multi-use trails further spreading out crowds. Also in the new year, a trail designation for foot traffic is planned toward the north side of the open space, where a small existing trailhead is set to expand for 40 more parking spaces. That’s in an aim to reduce parking along Woodmen Road. Another goal for the new year is to connect Blodgett to Wilson Ranch Park and the regional trail through the neighborhood. That’s part of a broader goal to connect the city’s open spaces via commuter paths.  One focus has been on Austin Bluffs Open Space and the trails around Pulpit Rock. Spine Trail could soon be finished, touring the length of the open space while achieving “an important connection on a regional scale,” as the open space’s 2020 master plan reads. To the north, Spine Trail will connect with paths running toward Ute Valley Park, while to the south, one can continue a course to Palmer Park.  Brad Fiala rides the Lori Cohen Memorial 5k Trail in Austin Bluffs Open Space. (Gazette file) Later this winter, Deitemeyer said he hoped to see construction start on a new hiking-only trail up Pulpit Rock. Enlightenment Trail has been envisioned as a set of stone steps rising to the top of one of the city’s most recognized promontories. Meanwhile, amid the city’s southwest backdrop, adjacent to Cheyenne Mountain, Fishers Canyon Open Space has been envisioned as Colorado Springs’ next great escape. The 343 acres were acquired in 2021, and a master plan approved in 2025 mapped a trail system of 9-10 miles reaching toward the city park system’s highest elevations.  Public access won’t come in 2026, Deitemeyer said. But he said he was hopeful to start building trails and a trailhead in the new year while he said the city continued to monitor wildlife patterns and thinned woods as part of ongoing fire mitigation.  View of Pikes Peak from Fishers Canyon Open Space. (Photo courtesy City of Colorado Springs) Deitemeyer pointed to another area “that really has an incredible amount of potential.” That’s the North Slope Recreation Area off the Pikes Peak Highway, comprising North and South Catamount reservoirs managed by Colorado Springs Utilities. The agency has sought to focus recreation on designated trails, away from access roads, and a plan is expected in the new year. Similar to recent work that expanded the Limber Pine Trail, Deitemeyer said the Parks Department would play a role in bringing that recreation plan to fruition.  “It’s an opportunity to create a space that is truly a gem of a property,” Deitemeyer said. “The views are incredible there, and there’s actually water there; it provides a different perspective than we’re used to seeing on the Front Range.”  Another future recreation hub has been imagined high in the hills near Manitou Springs. The city of Colorado Springs acquired Snyder Quarry, also known as Black Canyon Quarry, in 2020. Crews are “making great progress” on reclamation, Deitemeyer said. “Hopefully, we’ll have that re-seeded and work completed this year.”  The view of the Black Canyon Quarry from Manitou Springs. (Gazette file) Back at Pikeview Quarry above the expanded Blodgett Open Space, the city this year could review the owning company’s reclamation and decide on accepting the land as part of the 2020 deal that included Snyder Quarry. If deemed suitable, a “world-class” bike park has been floated for Pikeview.  It could be a vision among many others listed in the Parks Department’s system-wide master plan, updating a 183-page document from 2014. A draft plan is expected this spring. Related to that is an assessment that Deitemeyer described as “a more comprehensive maintenance plan for our trail system.” He added: “Very early stages, but there’s this new effort focusing on taking care of what we already have and being able to maintain that.”  El Paso County Parks officials are similarly conducting an “asset management inventory and condition assessment” in the new year. Another top priority is the Ute Pass Regional Trail, a long-dreamed trail blueprinted as 11 miles up from Manitou through Cascade and Green Mountain Falls, ending at the Teller County line.  The year could see a 1 ½-mile segment built between Winnemucca Road in Cascade-Chipita Park and Spring Street in Cascade. In a previous interview, the county’s Jason Meyer said that would leave a mile-plus left in the 11-mile plan ー a stretch from Spring Street down to the current trail out of Manitou.  The idea has been an alternative to U.S. 24 for traveling between the mountain towns.  “It’s gonna have recreational value, but there’s another layer to it, which is providing a safe, pedestrian corridor for anyone living in those communities,” Meyer said. “It’ll be like a commuter route, in addition to those people who come to recreate and want that challenge” of the trail. Among other business for the new year, the county plans to continue placing barriers around the colorful, fragile formations of Paint Mines Interpretive Park. Renovations on the ponds and gazebo at Fox Run Regional Park are expected to wrap up this summer. A pair of hikers explore the rock formations in Paint MInes Interpretive Park Saturday, July 15, 2017, outside Calhan. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock) View of Pikeview Quarry from parts of Blodgett Open Space to be realized from a master plan. Photo courtesy City of Colorado Springs ...read more read less