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Green Mountain Trail Reroute

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Consultation has concluded

Green Mountain Trail Reroute
The Lakewood Parks Division is rerouting a segment of the Green Mountain Trail at William F. Hayden Park this spring to improve sustainability and the user experience. The section of trail planned for reroute is located southeast of the Rooney Road Trailhead. The existing trail follows the fall-line of the slope that has created several issues including trail widening and braiding, erosion and rutting. Widening damages park vegetation and results in the spread of invasive weeds and overall degradation of the natural resource. This section of trail also tends to hold snow in a way that can cause multiple weeks of run-off as the snow melts, resulting in the formation of significant trail ruts.

What to expect
City staff are rerouting the trail several hundred feet to the west to move the trail onto the side-slope, allowing a new trail segment to be built that meets sustainable best practice standards. The reroute will be constructed at a 4-foot width, with design features to prevent erosion including out sloping, drainage dips, and spaced, rolling-grade dips. The grade of the new segment will be kept below 10% to help prevent erosion, and is designed to meet the needs of all trail users. Construction will occur using a mini-excavator for the initial trail cutting, with hand crews finishing the construction this spring or early summer.

Green Mountain Trail Reroute
The Lakewood Parks Division is rerouting a segment of the Green Mountain Trail at William F. Hayden Park this spring to improve sustainability and the user experience. The section of trail planned for reroute is located southeast of the Rooney Road Trailhead. The existing trail follows the fall-line of the slope that has created several issues including trail widening and braiding, erosion and rutting. Widening damages park vegetation and results in the spread of invasive weeds and overall degradation of the natural resource. This section of trail also tends to hold snow in a way that can cause multiple weeks of run-off as the snow melts, resulting in the formation of significant trail ruts.

What to expect
City staff are rerouting the trail several hundred feet to the west to move the trail onto the side-slope, allowing a new trail segment to be built that meets sustainable best practice standards. The reroute will be constructed at a 4-foot width, with design features to prevent erosion including out sloping, drainage dips, and spaced, rolling-grade dips. The grade of the new segment will be kept below 10% to help prevent erosion, and is designed to meet the needs of all trail users. Construction will occur using a mini-excavator for the initial trail cutting, with hand crews finishing the construction this spring or early summer.

Consultation has concluded

Ask a question about the trail improvements at William F. Hayden Park. We will respond within two business days. Please note that your questions will be visible to the public.

  • Share First of all, thanks for the work to improve both the user experience and the sustainability of this popular trail. Having run at Green Mountain for 30 years now, I am amazed at how much better the trails are and how many more people are using it. Second, all this sounds spot on and, as a runner/hiker, I appreciate that you are taking lessons learned from other trail work to apply here. Do let us all know when you'll be launching the work so that our community – Suffer Better – can get involved and put some effort into helping out. thanks on Facebook Share First of all, thanks for the work to improve both the user experience and the sustainability of this popular trail. Having run at Green Mountain for 30 years now, I am amazed at how much better the trails are and how many more people are using it. Second, all this sounds spot on and, as a runner/hiker, I appreciate that you are taking lessons learned from other trail work to apply here. Do let us all know when you'll be launching the work so that our community – Suffer Better – can get involved and put some effort into helping out. thanks on Twitter Share First of all, thanks for the work to improve both the user experience and the sustainability of this popular trail. Having run at Green Mountain for 30 years now, I am amazed at how much better the trails are and how many more people are using it. Second, all this sounds spot on and, as a runner/hiker, I appreciate that you are taking lessons learned from other trail work to apply here. Do let us all know when you'll be launching the work so that our community – Suffer Better – can get involved and put some effort into helping out. thanks on Linkedin Email First of all, thanks for the work to improve both the user experience and the sustainability of this popular trail. Having run at Green Mountain for 30 years now, I am amazed at how much better the trails are and how many more people are using it. Second, all this sounds spot on and, as a runner/hiker, I appreciate that you are taking lessons learned from other trail work to apply here. Do let us all know when you'll be launching the work so that our community – Suffer Better – can get involved and put some effort into helping out. thanks link

    First of all, thanks for the work to improve both the user experience and the sustainability of this popular trail. Having run at Green Mountain for 30 years now, I am amazed at how much better the trails are and how many more people are using it. Second, all this sounds spot on and, as a runner/hiker, I appreciate that you are taking lessons learned from other trail work to apply here. Do let us all know when you'll be launching the work so that our community – Suffer Better – can get involved and put some effort into helping out. thanks

    PeterD asked over 3 years ago

    Thank you for your support!

  • Share This is more comments than questions: William Hayden Park has been a favorite of mine since my early running days in the 1970's. Back then, there were only a couple of jeep trails and my favorite was one that went straight up on the north side of the mountain. I have to compliment you on developing and continuing to support the vast array of trails we all enjoy today. I still jog, hike and mountain bike nearly every trail on Green Mountain and thoroughly enjoy my time up there. I am sincerely thankful the City of Lakewood supports trail planning, development and maintenance of trails on William Hayden Park. The variety of trails and terrain are favorites of mine and please keep up the good work...we all appreciate it! on Facebook Share This is more comments than questions: William Hayden Park has been a favorite of mine since my early running days in the 1970's. Back then, there were only a couple of jeep trails and my favorite was one that went straight up on the north side of the mountain. I have to compliment you on developing and continuing to support the vast array of trails we all enjoy today. I still jog, hike and mountain bike nearly every trail on Green Mountain and thoroughly enjoy my time up there. I am sincerely thankful the City of Lakewood supports trail planning, development and maintenance of trails on William Hayden Park. The variety of trails and terrain are favorites of mine and please keep up the good work...we all appreciate it! on Twitter Share This is more comments than questions: William Hayden Park has been a favorite of mine since my early running days in the 1970's. Back then, there were only a couple of jeep trails and my favorite was one that went straight up on the north side of the mountain. I have to compliment you on developing and continuing to support the vast array of trails we all enjoy today. I still jog, hike and mountain bike nearly every trail on Green Mountain and thoroughly enjoy my time up there. I am sincerely thankful the City of Lakewood supports trail planning, development and maintenance of trails on William Hayden Park. The variety of trails and terrain are favorites of mine and please keep up the good work...we all appreciate it! on Linkedin Email This is more comments than questions: William Hayden Park has been a favorite of mine since my early running days in the 1970's. Back then, there were only a couple of jeep trails and my favorite was one that went straight up on the north side of the mountain. I have to compliment you on developing and continuing to support the vast array of trails we all enjoy today. I still jog, hike and mountain bike nearly every trail on Green Mountain and thoroughly enjoy my time up there. I am sincerely thankful the City of Lakewood supports trail planning, development and maintenance of trails on William Hayden Park. The variety of trails and terrain are favorites of mine and please keep up the good work...we all appreciate it! link

    This is more comments than questions: William Hayden Park has been a favorite of mine since my early running days in the 1970's. Back then, there were only a couple of jeep trails and my favorite was one that went straight up on the north side of the mountain. I have to compliment you on developing and continuing to support the vast array of trails we all enjoy today. I still jog, hike and mountain bike nearly every trail on Green Mountain and thoroughly enjoy my time up there. I am sincerely thankful the City of Lakewood supports trail planning, development and maintenance of trails on William Hayden Park. The variety of trails and terrain are favorites of mine and please keep up the good work...we all appreciate it!

    MTBHikeguy70 asked over 3 years ago

    Thank you for your support!

  • Share Thanks for inviting COMBA to help with trail building and design on Green Mountain. I have been riding Green Mountain for 35 years and the trails always turn to baby heads (cobbles) or deep ruts (which leads everyone to create a new trail to stay out of the rut) whenever we get erosion from strong rains. Except the new trails designed by COMBA. The newer trails designed by COMBA stay in much better shape after heavy rains. on Facebook Share Thanks for inviting COMBA to help with trail building and design on Green Mountain. I have been riding Green Mountain for 35 years and the trails always turn to baby heads (cobbles) or deep ruts (which leads everyone to create a new trail to stay out of the rut) whenever we get erosion from strong rains. Except the new trails designed by COMBA. The newer trails designed by COMBA stay in much better shape after heavy rains. on Twitter Share Thanks for inviting COMBA to help with trail building and design on Green Mountain. I have been riding Green Mountain for 35 years and the trails always turn to baby heads (cobbles) or deep ruts (which leads everyone to create a new trail to stay out of the rut) whenever we get erosion from strong rains. Except the new trails designed by COMBA. The newer trails designed by COMBA stay in much better shape after heavy rains. on Linkedin Email Thanks for inviting COMBA to help with trail building and design on Green Mountain. I have been riding Green Mountain for 35 years and the trails always turn to baby heads (cobbles) or deep ruts (which leads everyone to create a new trail to stay out of the rut) whenever we get erosion from strong rains. Except the new trails designed by COMBA. The newer trails designed by COMBA stay in much better shape after heavy rains. link

    Thanks for inviting COMBA to help with trail building and design on Green Mountain. I have been riding Green Mountain for 35 years and the trails always turn to baby heads (cobbles) or deep ruts (which leads everyone to create a new trail to stay out of the rut) whenever we get erosion from strong rains. Except the new trails designed by COMBA. The newer trails designed by COMBA stay in much better shape after heavy rains.

    Bruno asked over 3 years ago

    Thank you for your comments! We are excited to provide trail improvements inclusive of all user groups with better resistance to erosion over time. 

  • Share This sounds great. As a regular hiker and mountain biker on Green Mountain I greatly appreciate all the trail additions and changes that have been made in the last few years. Keep up the good work! on Facebook Share This sounds great. As a regular hiker and mountain biker on Green Mountain I greatly appreciate all the trail additions and changes that have been made in the last few years. Keep up the good work! on Twitter Share This sounds great. As a regular hiker and mountain biker on Green Mountain I greatly appreciate all the trail additions and changes that have been made in the last few years. Keep up the good work! on Linkedin Email This sounds great. As a regular hiker and mountain biker on Green Mountain I greatly appreciate all the trail additions and changes that have been made in the last few years. Keep up the good work! link

    This sounds great. As a regular hiker and mountain biker on Green Mountain I greatly appreciate all the trail additions and changes that have been made in the last few years. Keep up the good work!

    LivesNextToGreenMountain asked over 3 years ago

    Thank you!

  • Share heym, can the green mountain high school bike team help with this work? on Facebook Share heym, can the green mountain high school bike team help with this work? on Twitter Share heym, can the green mountain high school bike team help with this work? on Linkedin Email heym, can the green mountain high school bike team help with this work? link

    heym, can the green mountain high school bike team help with this work?

    Jonathan Phillips asked over 3 years ago

    We would love your support. Please send your phone number or email to ambthi@lakewood.org. 

  • Share Is this reroute going to be similar the Rooney Valley Trail reroute, with the large dips? It seems that most of this trail rework is being done to make mountain biking more enjoyable at the expense of other trail users. Those severe dips are jarring to runners and hikers. This is true of the work that was done on the eastern side of the green mountain trail as well and the summit trail reroute on the east side. Please consider other trail users when making these changes, not just mountain bikers. on Facebook Share Is this reroute going to be similar the Rooney Valley Trail reroute, with the large dips? It seems that most of this trail rework is being done to make mountain biking more enjoyable at the expense of other trail users. Those severe dips are jarring to runners and hikers. This is true of the work that was done on the eastern side of the green mountain trail as well and the summit trail reroute on the east side. Please consider other trail users when making these changes, not just mountain bikers. on Twitter Share Is this reroute going to be similar the Rooney Valley Trail reroute, with the large dips? It seems that most of this trail rework is being done to make mountain biking more enjoyable at the expense of other trail users. Those severe dips are jarring to runners and hikers. This is true of the work that was done on the eastern side of the green mountain trail as well and the summit trail reroute on the east side. Please consider other trail users when making these changes, not just mountain bikers. on Linkedin Email Is this reroute going to be similar the Rooney Valley Trail reroute, with the large dips? It seems that most of this trail rework is being done to make mountain biking more enjoyable at the expense of other trail users. Those severe dips are jarring to runners and hikers. This is true of the work that was done on the eastern side of the green mountain trail as well and the summit trail reroute on the east side. Please consider other trail users when making these changes, not just mountain bikers. link

    Is this reroute going to be similar the Rooney Valley Trail reroute, with the large dips? It seems that most of this trail rework is being done to make mountain biking more enjoyable at the expense of other trail users. Those severe dips are jarring to runners and hikers. This is true of the work that was done on the eastern side of the green mountain trail as well and the summit trail reroute on the east side. Please consider other trail users when making these changes, not just mountain bikers.

    davedd214 asked over 3 years ago

    Thank you for reaching out, I’m sorry to hear that you do not feel there has been appropriate solicitation from the pedestrian side with regards to trail improvements. I want to stress, we use the LakewoodTogether.org public engagement site for exactly this purpose. To ensure all user groups are heard to enable us to make modifications to our conceptual plans as needed. Modifications occur frequently following feedback received. 

     

    The existing Green Mountain Trail is very steep and does not meet sustainability guidelines, resulting in widening and rutting. The new trail will utilize drainage features, but they will be much less noticeable than the Rooney Valley Trail. Rooney Valley is extremely steep with very steep cross slopes, resulting in the need for more aggressive drainage structures. We learned a lot from that project and have modified our trail standards to limit these structures, and minimize their use where possible. However, the extremely heavy use that parks like Green Mountain attracts, result in wear and tear on the trails that older trail design standards cannot handle. For these reasons there will still be drainage structures designed into the trail, but they will be lower “amplitude” and spaced further apart. We try to avoid “long switchbacks” wherever possible, but they are needed where the grade will otherwise be too steep to meet trail guidelines. The new trail segment will be slightly longer than the existing one, but should be appealing to all users. The rolling grade dips that are used also serve the important purpose of slowing down mountain bikes. These dips are not designed as jumps and slow down all but the most expert level riders, helping to reduce trail speeds and conflicts. 

  • Share When is this happening. Can I help on Facebook Share When is this happening. Can I help on Twitter Share When is this happening. Can I help on Linkedin Email When is this happening. Can I help link

    When is this happening. Can I help

    Tsandin asked over 3 years ago

    We hope to begin trail work after reviewing feedback and comments received on this page in late April or early May, weather dependent. Stay tuned to this page for volunteer opportunities.

  • Share Thanks for inviting COMBA to do join the city staff to realign this section. Typically its a snowdrift mud fest and really one of the key spots that prevents the trail from being utilized in the winter and thus has gotten wider as visitors go around the spot. In an ideal world we could add a "winter trail" to the SW on the C470 side which would keep the entire trail dry making this a connection to rooney valley 95% dry most of the time. Thanks again for doing this! Gil on Facebook Share Thanks for inviting COMBA to do join the city staff to realign this section. Typically its a snowdrift mud fest and really one of the key spots that prevents the trail from being utilized in the winter and thus has gotten wider as visitors go around the spot. In an ideal world we could add a "winter trail" to the SW on the C470 side which would keep the entire trail dry making this a connection to rooney valley 95% dry most of the time. Thanks again for doing this! Gil on Twitter Share Thanks for inviting COMBA to do join the city staff to realign this section. Typically its a snowdrift mud fest and really one of the key spots that prevents the trail from being utilized in the winter and thus has gotten wider as visitors go around the spot. In an ideal world we could add a "winter trail" to the SW on the C470 side which would keep the entire trail dry making this a connection to rooney valley 95% dry most of the time. Thanks again for doing this! Gil on Linkedin Email Thanks for inviting COMBA to do join the city staff to realign this section. Typically its a snowdrift mud fest and really one of the key spots that prevents the trail from being utilized in the winter and thus has gotten wider as visitors go around the spot. In an ideal world we could add a "winter trail" to the SW on the C470 side which would keep the entire trail dry making this a connection to rooney valley 95% dry most of the time. Thanks again for doing this! Gil link

    Thanks for inviting COMBA to do join the city staff to realign this section. Typically its a snowdrift mud fest and really one of the key spots that prevents the trail from being utilized in the winter and thus has gotten wider as visitors go around the spot. In an ideal world we could add a "winter trail" to the SW on the C470 side which would keep the entire trail dry making this a connection to rooney valley 95% dry most of the time. Thanks again for doing this! Gil

    Gil McCormick asked over 3 years ago

    Gil, we always appreciate your feedback! I've passed along your comments to the Parks team.