Mountain trail from Crested Butte to Carbondale is taking shape

Paved path near Carbondale to finish next spring

The Crested Butte-Carbondale Trail that began as a concept in 2003 and got its official start as an agreement between Gunnison and Pitkin counties in 2006 is finally under construction from both ends, after ground was broken on a 5.2-mile section of paved walking trail outside of Carbondale.

The location of the 53-mile trail that will link the two communities was generally laid out in a 2008 Trail Feasibility Report. Funding for the project has been secured from a number of state, county and local authorities, although the project hasn’t been without delays.
Most recently, Pitkin County officials had to overcome liability issues with various entities and work with the Colorado Department of Transportation to determine the type of licensing agreement needed for their portion of the trail.
Pitkin County commissioner Rachel Richards told the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners at a joint meeting on Tuesday, August 11 that several other communities around the state have had the same troubles with CDOT. “We eventually had to swallow our objections after finding that it was the only way to go,” she said.
Pitkin County’s compromise was enough to allow them to get started on the first $2 million phase of construction on the trail, which will be paved alongside Hwy. 133 through Carbondale.
The trail will change drastically along its route, from being a paved, handicapped-accessible trail in Carbondale to a single-track mountain bike, hiking and horse trail along the rest of the route, including part of the Kebler Wagon Trail on the Crested Butte side.
Although the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) has built portions of the trail from the south end of the route, they too are at a standstill as they try to find a way to negotiate several obstacles.
“Now we’re ready to start building the section of trail over Anthracite Creek, but the Forest Service wants to build a bridge over the creek, so it might be a while,” Gunnison County Trails Commission chairwoman Joellen Fonken said.
Fonken also said there are some additional delays in trail construction because of ongoing efforts to negotiate the trail around an iron fen on Mt. Emmons that is federally protected as a natural area and other areas where protected plants are known to be.
“[The Forest Service] is worried about changing the integrity of the entire area,” Fonken said. “It does have a special study area status.”
Those types of troubles getting the trail routed still need to be worked out, which means there is no estimated completion date for the trail, but work will gradually continue at both ends, with the paved section in Carbondale expected to be done this fall or next spring.
Anne Rickenbaugh, a commissioner from the Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Board said, “We’re really excited that we got to break ground on the trail this week and we’re going to work diligently to inch our way up the valley.”