Fishers Peak State Park continues to develop with what might be the ultimate draw to the preserve in southern Colorado.

That’s the trail to the top of the unmistakable flattop looming over Interstate 25, the chimney-like promontory above 9,600 feet that Trinidad locals and visitors have sought for generations while under private ownership. Fishers Peak and the surrounding 19,200 acres became Colorado’s second-largest state park in 2019. Some short trails opened a year later.

Trail to the Peak, as it’s named in proposed maps, has seen substantial progress — “way ahead of schedule,” said Shaun Gordon, Colorado Parks and Wildlife project manager, in a recent presentation.

A trail spanning about 7 miles to the peak’s uppermost cliffs is envisioned, along with a series of shorter loops closer to the existing trailhead. From the parking lot off I-25, the intent is to provide options for hikers of differing abilities.

“We’re hoping to have a lot of that, if not all of that, built by the end of the year,” Kevin Shanks, landscape architect with THK Associates, said in the presentation.

With raptors nesting in the cliffs, the peak’s high reaches will be closed March through July. Another seasonal closure is designated for calving in the vast, southern portion of the park. A limited number of hunters have roamed this portion, and it’s possible others with backcountry permits will be allowed in the future as other parts of the park come into shape.

Planners have categorized the majority of the rugged park under “natural” and “protection” management zones.

“Very similar to most of the backcountry lands we experience in Colorado,” said Bill Mangle, who has studied the park’s sensitive habitats. “Typically trails, maybe interpretive sites and some backcountry camping … Some limited infrastructure, but it is heavily managed either through placement of trails or seasonal closures to greatly emphasize resource and habitat conservation.”

A pending master plan calls for “clustering the development,” Mangle said, “to minimize the overall impacts.”

Hence the northwest corner of the park, the launch point for Trail to the Peak. It is among the 70-plus miles of trail that have been plotted, ranging from multi-use, to equestrian, to downhill-only singletrack for mountain bikers. The network figures to explore big meadows, dense forests and rock outcrops, with campgrounds and backcountry spots scattered throughout.

In the park’s southern entry, there’s potential for a climbing area, along the crags of a mountain called Little Baldy, Shanks said. “It’s not a huge amount of vertical, but there are a lot of different routes,” he said.

Also envisioned are bike and equestrian skills courses.

The park’s manager “has always wanted this park to have a real strong educational component,” Shanks said. “And that’s not just about learning the natural resources or the cultural resources, but it’s also about learning certain recreational skills.”

Other education will be offered in the visitor center, what renderings show to be an impressive facility inspired by southwest architecture. That construction will happen in later phases. Phases are likely to happen over the course of 10 years, “plus or minus,” Shanks said.

“Right now, the first phase is to try to get people to the peak,” he said.