
The Town of Snowmass Village’s Ted O’Brien, Parks and Trails Manager, deserves a hefty thanks for leading the charge on all of the improvements accomplished on the trail system this past summer and fall. While some of the improvements might seem minor, many of them act as connectors that ensure riders new to the trail system won’t get lost and can stay on high quality singletrack for even longer portions of their ride.
The North Rim Trail has been extended by about three quarters of a mile. Starting at the lowest wood bridge on the trail, the extension traverses and descends on the scrub oak hill side above the old cinder path (former standard route). This rolling machine built section complements the always excellent descent of the existing Rim Trail. The new South Rim Connector Trail connects Nature Trail to the South Rim Trail‘s trailhead, which includes a 4 or 5 car parking lot. This connector provides the opportunity for huge continuous singletrack loops with the Rim Trail and Snowmass mountain trails.
A new extension of the Tom Blake trail will help riders more easily find their way from Highline trail or the parking lot trailhead located on Owl Creek Rd. onto Tom Blake. There’s still a dangerous road crossing to keep eyes open for, but less time to spend on the pavement with this improvement.
Last, but not least, the end of Highline / Viewline that meets near the Rodeo Lot Roundabout has been improved from steep ruts with tight turns to perfect sustainable grades with nice bermed turns. And of course, a few turns in the middle of Highline were improved as part of the Deadline trail’s construction process.