BOULDER, Colo. — Boulder's parks department received a $1.1 million grant for trail repairs on Mount Sanitas and the construction of two new, short trails.
The trails in the 678-acre Mount Sanitas area west of Boulder are some of the most popular in the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department's trail system with more than 375,000 visits every year, the city reported. However, they are steep and prone to erosion, so they require ongoing maintenance. Creating a more durable trail infrastructure on Mount Sanitas will help with the OSMP's annual maintenance savings, which will make way for trail crews to complete repairs on other parts of the system, the city said.
Boulder earned the grant funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife for the National Parks Service.
The city said that this grant will help the OSMP:
- Conduct significant repairs to the approach to the summit of Mount Sanitas, on both the Mount Sanitas and East Ridge trails.
- Design and construct a new trail to connect neighborhoods located northeast of Mount Sanitas to the OSMP trail network.
- Design and construct a new trail to provide access to historically significant rock quarries on the mountain.
- Add infrastructure around the eight bouldering formations on the Mount Sanitas trail, including adding gathering space in bouldering areas, steps, fencing and signage.
- Close and restore undesignated trails, which can reduce the size of natural areas that wildlife and plants need to thrive.
This work is expected to begin in 2025 and continue into 2027.
“We are dedicated to helping our community enjoy and protect open space and thank the state and the federal government for their support in helping us with that mission,” said Dan Burke, director of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. “We look forward to using this grant to improve, maintain and preserve an iconic Boulder area for our community and future generations.”
The OSMP will partner with the Boulder Open Space Conservancy (BOSC) — the department’s official philanthropic partner — to leverage additional fundraising opportunities, the city said.
“For the past three years, BOSC has focused on increasing awareness for how special Mount Sanitas is, fostering volunteer group opportunities to support the Mount Sanitas Trail and raising more than $100,000 to support area trail and ecological restoration,” said Alyson Duffey, BOSC executive director. “This grant is a major boost for our partnership with Open Space and Mountain Parks, and we will continue to inspire the community and visitors to join the collective stewardship of one of Boulder's most beloved, iconic areas.”
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