{"id":123641,"date":"2026-04-03T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durangos-crown-jewel-animas-river-trail-is-50-years-in-the-making\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:00:00","slug":"durangos-crown-jewel-animas-river-trail-is-50-years-in-the-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durangos-crown-jewel-animas-river-trail-is-50-years-in-the-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango\u2019s \u2018crown jewel\u2019 Animas River Trail is 50 years in the making"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jessica
Jessica Corley walks her dogs, Rufous, left, and Bonnie over one of the eight pedestrian bridges on the Animas River Trial on Thursday. Corley said she loves the trail and uses it every day. The Animas River Trail is a 50-year-long project that hasn\u2019t quite reached its end \u2013 Three Springs \u2013 but city officials say it is getting there. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cLovely, winding, soothing and peaceful\u201d are how residents describe Durango\u2019s Animas River Trail, said Sweetie Marbury, longtime resident and former city councilor.<\/p>\n

Often called the \u201ccrown jewel\u201d of Durango by residents and city officials past and present, the Animas River Trail has been decades in the making.<\/p>\n

About 50 years into development, the Animas River Trail remains unfinished as the city works to complete a long-planned connection to Three Springs. When, exactly, that connection will be made, remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

The trail extends from Oxbow Park and Preserve in north Durango to the Dallabetta Park trailhead near River Road and La Posta Road (County Road 213).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 50 years and approximately $35 million in the making \u2013 about $4 million, or 18% of which was grant-funded \u2013 according to the Parks and Recreation Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly one of Durango\u2019s most defining assets,\u201d Councilor Jessika Loyer said. \u201cIt connects neighborhoods, nature, the community in a way I think very few towns do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hal
Hal McLean rides his bike on the Animas River Trail on Thursday. The trail has been hailed as Durango\u2019s \u201ccrown jewel\u201d by residents and city officials. It stretches nearly 9 miles from Oxbow Park and Preserve to the Dallabetta Park trailhead near River Road and La Posta Road (County Road 213). (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She said the Animas River Trail is not just a trail \u2013 it\u2019s part of the city\u2019s infrastructure, a recreation outlet, an economic driver and a piece of the community\u2019s identity all rolled into one.<\/p>\n

Negotiations with property owners are underway to clear the path to Three Springs, according to the city.<\/p>\n

That connection, which is formally known as the SMART 160 Trail, would stretch the Animas River Trail\u2019s approximately 9-mile length from Oxbow Park and Preserve to Three Springs, adding another 3 miles to the trail. The trail currently ends near the Sale Barn trailhead near Home Depot.<\/p>\n

\"The
The end of the Animas River Trial as it winds under several bridges from Three Springs east Durango. The trail has a missing link basically from the Home Depot store to the Wilson Gulch area in Grandview area \u2013 a link Three Springs residents would like to see completed. The main challenge in completing the trail lies with land negotiations. City officials say negotiations take time, but they will eventually complete the trail. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The planned connection to Three Springs is about halfway constructed, and another half remains to be developed<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Animas River Trail always was the No. 1 recreational asset that the community members used,\u201d said Cathy Metz, former Parks and Recreation director of 25 years.<\/p>\n

She said the first segment of the trail was created in the 1970s, and was developed in patchy segments in an opportunistic fashion \u2013 when other public works projects justified building parts of the trail.<\/p>\n

Metz said things changed in 1999 when voters approved a sales tax that would serve as a dedicated funding source for Parks and Recreation Department projects, including the Animas River Trail.<\/p>\n

The new funding source allowed the city to pursue grants and purchase properties for easements, speeding up development of the trail, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to that, it was very difficult to build segments of the trail because it was expensive. There\u2019s always, always competing demands for resources in the city, because there\u2019s so many needs in the community,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had a very difficult time doing construction prior to that dedicated sales tax in \u201999, and it would have taken much longer had we not had the voter approval.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cooper
Cooper Semple walks his dog Cleo on a newer section of the Animas River Trial on Thursday near 32nd Street. The trail is called the \u201ccrown jewel\u201d of Durango for its connectivity between downtown, major trailheads and city parks. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Metz served as Parks and Recreation director from January 1996 through July 2021. Other parks and recreation directors came and went.<\/p>\n

Scott McClain, current director, said one of the trail\u2019s standout features is its utility. It provides a great recreational opportunity, he said, but more and more people are using it for their daily commutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to ride for \u2026 the length of the trail along the edge of the river is extraordinary,\u201d he said. \u201cThe river trail does a great job of linking together all the things that we have done as a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The river trail connects to downtown, various trailheads and other parks and recreation projects such as Oxbow Park and Preserve in north Durango.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m on your left\u201d and \u201cCan I say \u2018hi\u2019 to your dog?\u201d are the sorts of neighborly things a trail user will hear, McClain said.<\/p>\n

There are roughly 25 public art installations, eight pedestrian bridges and three junctions where users can take an underpass or cross the street to continue along the trail.<\/p>\n

Marbury, who served on City Council from 2011 to 2019, said the trail itself is a \u201cwork of art.\u201d She recalled a walk she and other councilors took along the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks near Memorial Park to see for themselves how the trail might impact property owners in the area.<\/p>\n

Metz and McClain separately said negotiations with property owners have always been the biggest challenges with development of the trail.<\/p>\n

That rings true to this day.<\/p>\n

The Durango Herald<\/em> reported in July 2024 the city was in negotiations with property owner John Gilleland to advance the SMART 160 trail connection to Three Springs.<\/p>\n

Negotiations are ongoing, according to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were pieces that we had to wait until a private property owner was in place, or that property ownership changed, until we could get an easement to connect A and B,\u201d McClain said. \u201cThe section down there between Harley-Davidson and the (Durango) Mall was one of those sections where we had trails filled out through there and north of there, but had a gap that we couldn\u2019t connect for a number of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the northern section of the Animas River Trail was challenging to build because the Animas City area was already developed. While people were supportive of the trail, they were also concerned about how the trail might affect their privacy. People love the idea of a new trail, but not necessarily one that runs through their backyard.<\/p>\n

\"Animas
Animas River Trial users are increasingly using the trail for their commutes \u2013 not just recreation, said Scott McClain, Durango Parks and Recreation director. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cTrying to find that balance \u2013 building a trail in an area that\u2019s already developed \u2013 has been a challenge, for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Loyer, who was elected in April 2021 and is the longest-serving councilor out of current city councilors, said the 32nd Street pedestrian bridge and underpass on the Animas River Trail was a controversial project, and one of the biggest developments of the trail during her time in office.<\/p>\n

The project cost about $2.7 million and used a Great Outdoors Colorado grant of $1.4 million<\/a>, the Herald <\/em>reported in September 2022 upon the project\u2019s completion.<\/p>\n

The underpass, which connects to Memorial Park, was built to allow trail users to cross 32nd Street without encountering traffic. She said the underpass was \u201cmajor for safety and accessibility\u201d \u2013 trail users don\u2019t have to cross a road once between Oxbow Park in north Durango and where the trail ends near Home Depot.<\/p>\n

Loyer said negotiations with property owners are tough, and as a business owner, she gets it \u2013 bureaucracy is slow and \u201cmaddening sometimes,\u201d but it exists for a reason.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s private landowners, right? You can\u2019t force them to do something. We want to work together with the community to make it the best we possibly can,\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 We\u2019re going to have a beautiful trail that is going to go from Oxbow Park to Three Springs someday, and we\u2019re all going to be so glad when it finally goes through. And yeah, it\u2019s frustrating \u2013 for sure \u2013 but at the same time, it\u2019s just part of the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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