{"id":22352,"date":"2025-05-06T22:36:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T22:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/aqueduct-trail-in-mancos-opens-for-the-season\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:12:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:12:57","slug":"aqueduct-trail-in-mancos-opens-for-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/aqueduct-trail-in-mancos-opens-for-the-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Aqueduct Trail in Mancos opens for the season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Don
Don Hoffheins, the chairman of the Mancos Trails Group, smooths out a section of Aqueduct Trail in Mancos on opening day, May 1. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Early Thursday morning, the Bureau of Land Management unlocked the gates to Aqueduct Trail in Mancos, opening it for the season.<\/p>\n

Not long after, Don Hoffheins, chairman of the Mancos Trails Group<\/a>, was on his mountain bike, cruising the nearly 13-mile trail system just 2 miles outside town.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe traffic is about what I expected,\u201d Hoffheins said, adding that he\u2019d already seen a few bikers and hikers. \u201cA good number of people have come and gone already.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mostly mountain bikers use the trail, he said, since other routes in the area are more technical or steep. Aqueduct is a bit more friendly.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople on trail will say how much they love it, how it\u2019s so smooth and flows so well, even going uphill,\u201d Hoffheins said. \u201cThat\u2019s my favorite part, is hearing the comments from people who use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe provided something the public loves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Building Aqueduct<\/div>\n

In May 2021, the Mancos Trails Group started developing what would become Aqueduct Trail.<\/p>\n

The BLM gave them a GPS file with a location, a line of trail.<\/p>\n

From there, \u201cI flagged alternate routes,\u201d said Hoffheins.<\/p>\n

A lot of times, erosion concerns motivated the changes \u2013 in some areas where the BLM suggested the trail be, it was \u201ctoo steep,\u201d so they made it into switchbacks instead, he said.<\/p>\n

Other times, the opportunity to lead the trail to a beautiful view inspired where it now lies.<\/p>\n

As we walked along the \u201cRiprap\u201d section of trail, we came to a point where Ute Mountain was framed by two trees on either side. Hoffheins pointed that out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe intentionally take the trail to unique trees, rocks and views sometimes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Looking at the trees, he added that they tried not to uproot any.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes their mind off the work they\u2019re putting in,\u201d when, for instance, a biker can look at the plants around them as they pedal, he said.<\/p>\n

Hoffheins said he spent at least 2,000 hours over the years either on Aqueduct Trail or at the drawing board to help develop it. About 4 miles was carved out by hand, and the rest was done by machine.<\/p>\n

In June last year, the trail officially opened.<\/p>\n

Hiking Aqueduct on Opening Day<\/div>\n

As he hiked that day, it was clear he knew the area well, the several thousand hours of work he put into it apparent.<\/p>\n

He paused to point out a few funky formations, like \u201cdino eggs\u201d on trail.<\/p>\n

The round rocks got that nickname because they looked a lot like what Hollywood movies make dino eggs out to be, with crystals embedded into them.<\/p>\n

\"A
A \u201cdino egg\u201d on Aqueduct trail. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Crystals
Crystals embedded into rocks at Aqueduct Trail in Mancos. A geologist conducted a study there to better understand the geology of the area, and they\u2019re waiting on the report. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

At another point, he stopped at what looked like petrified wood, but he\u2019s unsure if it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still waiting on the report from the geologist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When developing any trail, Hoffheins underscored the effort and emphasis on making it sustainable, as well as avoiding impacts on other resources.<\/p>\n

Often times, putting a trail along an already sloping spot helps with its sustainability, since water is able to drain off its side.<\/p>\n

Hoffheins said that of all the trails the Mancos Trails Group maintains, Aqueduct requires the most upkeep because of erosion problems.<\/p>\n

On the next work day, which will be Saturday, May 17, the trails group will be out at Aqueduct, building cross drains to help keep water off the trail.<\/p>\n

Volunteers work for several hours on those work days \u2013 which are typically the second Saturday of each month \u2013 and are rewarded afterward with burgers and fixings from P&D Grocery in town.<\/p>\n

Up overhead, rain clouds started rolling in, and the wind picked up.<\/p>\n

As we retreated to the parking lot, Hoffheins said, \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be out here when it\u2019s raining.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe encourage people not to use trails for a few days after it rains so it can dry out,\u201d he said. \u201cThe soil is super-sticky. When it gets on a tire, it won\u2019t roll.\u201d<\/p>\n

And on hiking boots, it creates \u201ca high heel caked in mud.\u201d<\/p>\n

The value of volunteers in maintaining these trails is huge, he went on.<\/p>\n

About half of Aqueduct has been \u201cadopted out\u201d by couples and families already.<\/p>\n

Adopters agree to care for a mile or two of trail, coming out several times a year to remove fallen branches and trees, and otherwise maintaining their specific section.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s free to adopt trail, and \u201canyone can come to a group work day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a sense of satisfaction, creating something that others enjoy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"A
A view of Mesa Verde from Aqueduct Trail in Mancos. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s closed from Dec. 1 to May 1 each year to protect elk and deer during winter <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-22352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77674,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22352\/revisions\/77674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22352"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=22352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}