New trails to complete vision for open space north of Colorado Springs
LEFT: View from Far View Trail at Santa Fe Open Space in Palmer Lake. RIGHT: Big trees greet hikers entering Santa Fe Open Space in Palmer Lake.
the gazette photos
At a tucked-away open space north of Colorado Springs, the trail additions will be small — but big in the context of a vision going back years.
“This is a great feeling,” said Ross Williams, the El Paso County park planner who has overseen development at Santa Fe Open Space since its public acquisition in 2017.
He was referring to two short trails that will complete the master planned network for the open space near Palmer Lake.
Happy Trails: A lush hike through Doe Creek
Williams expects them to be built in the coming months: about a quarter-mile segment that will fill in the gap of a loop option on the open space’s west side, called the Corral Loop, and a shorter spur leading to an overlook of Mount Herman and the Pikes Peak foothills.
“The addition of the Corral Loop will allow trail users to create a myriad of stacked loop options or perhaps a combination of figure-eights to increase their hiking/biking experience,” Williams said.
Photo courtesy El Paso County
That’s been the experience at Santa Fe Open Space since its ribbon-cutting in 2022 — a figure-eight, single-track system through a meadow and higher, scenic oak and pine woods.
The 65 acres are situated off the New Santa Fe Regional Trail, running between Palmer Lake and Monument. The open space is popularly reached about a half-mile up the regional trail from Palmer Lake Recreation Area.
Hikers, runners, dog walkers, mountain bikers and equestrians “like that it is easy to access,” Williams said, “but at the same time, kind of secluded and out of the way.”
He said he expected the new trails to be built and opened in the fall.
Cool off at these Colorado Springs fountains, pools and spray grounds
Heavy blast of snow forecast for Colorado as 2-3 feet could fall over next 2 days
Jonathan Ingraham
jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com
Updated 13 hours ago
Colorado’s high country is about to receive a big blast of snow over the next two days, with some northern locations possibly seeing between 24-36 inches of snow by Sunday morning. Travel impacts on the state’s northern highways could be...
Jonathan Ingraham
Reporter
Proposed development sparks rally to ‘save’ trail, open space south of Denver
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 1 day ago
For the past 25 years around Denver’s south metro area, Mike Smith has watched homes, offices and commercial centers rise in open spaces he once viewed from the seat of his bike. But then there’s what he calls “the heart...
Seth Boster
Reporter
51 acres of private Colorado inholdings secured by land trust in two popular wildernesses
Jonathan Ingraham
jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com
Updated 6 hours ago
Acquisitions will help to add onto public lands in pristine state ecosystems The Montana-based Wilderness Land Trust announced Wednesday it recently acquired two private inholdings within Colorado wildernesses, expanding 51 acres for future public use. The two properties are the...
Jonathan Ingraham
Reporter
PHOTOS: Snow hits the Front Range
Stephen Swofford
stephen-swofford@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 days ago
Stephen Swofford
Reporter
Musical headliners named for 2026 Outside Days festival, presale tickets on sale Wednesday
Jonathan Ingraham
jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com
Updated 1 day ago
Outside Interactive Inc., in partnership with the State of Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and presented by Capital One and REI Co-op, announced Wednesday the headliner music acts for the 2026 Outside Days in downtown Denver. Known as the Outside...
Jonathan Ingraham
Reporter
Splurging, exploring and enjoying: 48 hours in Steamboat Springs
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 3 days ago
For the truest sense of Steamboat Springs, you might want to mark your calendar for early February. That’s the scheduled return of Winter Carnival, the weeklong celebration of ski jumping, parading, dancing, s’mores-eating and more. “It’s our Super Bowl,” an...
Seth Boster
Reporter
10-20″ of snow forecast in Colorado from multi-day weekend storm
Jonathan Ingraham
jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com
Updated 1 day ago
Winter weather continues to bring a lot more snow to Colorado’s high country in December as a multi-day weekend storm packs between 8-16″ for some ski areas across the state. In all, 10-20″ of snow is possible by weekend’s end...
Jonathan Ingraham
Reporter
Camping Memorial Day weekend in Colorado? You might want to reserve a spot now
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 4 days ago
Coloradans are thinking about Christmas, not Memorial Day. But if they’re wanting to camp that holiday weekend in the summer, they might want to start planning now. Some of the state’s most popular campgrounds take reservations six months in advance....
Seth Boster
Reporter
New stretch of Peaks to Plains Trail in canyon west of Denver
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 7 hours ago
Another stretch of a long-dreamed trail has opened in a canyon west of Denver. Jefferson County officials and enthusiasts recently gathered for a ribbon cutting at a new trailhead in Clear Creek Canyon Park — the rugged, scenic site of...
Seth Boster
Reporter
1,420 people needed to break unofficial ‘world record’ in Breckenridge at Ullr Fest
Jonathan Ingraham
jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 days ago
The magic number of participants the Breckenridge Tourism Office in Breckenridge, Colorado is looking for to break the unofficial world record for most people doing a Shotski at one time is 1,420. Tickets for the 2025 Shotski event go on...
Jonathan Ingraham
Reporter
PREV
PREVIOUS
'A sacred place:' Exploring the Grottos off Colorado's Independence Pass
Seth Boster ASPEN • In the forest along Independence Pass, there’s a place of bizarre, swirling rock and roaring water that captures the imagination of drivers who stop by. This was a favorite place of Bob Lewis. “Bob was an educator all his adult life,” says a longtime friend and writer, Paul Anderson, “and he […]
'Devastating' — Zebra mussels found in Colorado River, officials scramble to develop rapid response
After years of taking steps to keep zebra mussels out of Colorado’s rivers and lakes, state officials said on Tuesday they are “devastated” to learn the invasive species has now made its way into the Colorado River, potentially affecting four states, and they are working on a rapid response to stop it from spreading. “This […]