Trail advocates are celebrating “a major milestone” toward the creation of a long-dreamed outdoor destination in southwest Colorado.

That’s how Silverton Singletrack Society described a $750,000 grant recently announced for the Baker’s Park trail system. The grant was the largest among the latest “community impact” awards from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO).

And the grant was “by far the biggest” in Silverton Singletrack Society’s history, said Klem Branner, the nonprofit’s president.

“It’s huge,” he said. “We knew from the beginning we were gonna need to raise the big bucks.”

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The beginning was more than 10 years ago, when Silverton mountain bikers organized around a vision.

The vision was a “world-class” singletrack network roaming Boulder Mountain, in close pedaling distance from town. Along with proximity, the mountain had the benefit of a south face for earlier snowmelt, and the terrain was almost entirely under the Bureau of Land Management.

Baker’s Park would be, as GOCO has referred to it, “the first non-motorized trail system in the county.”

San Juan County trails have always appealed to off-roaders and expert and beginner mountain bikers, Branner explained. “But there really wasn’t anything in the middle, and the purpose-built stuff for experts and beginners wasn’t here.”

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Enter the plan for 30 miles of trail — not just for mountain bikers. Easy-going hikers, hard-charging runners and families with kids have enjoyed the first seven miles, Branner said.

The first loop was finished last year. The GOCO grant will pay for construction on a second, higher loop — in all 10.7 miles to be built over the next three years, according to the agency’s announcement.

“The additional stuff will help us get a little bit more of a mixed bag of trails,” Branner said. “The first loop there is blue, so the additional stuff will hopefully get us some beginner trail and some more advanced trail so we’ll have something for everybody.”

Something for everybody — and something to benefit year-round tourism in the small, remote town, as local officials see it. In a statement, Silverton Mayor Dayna Kranker said the grant “shows how much can be achieved when a community rallies around a shared vision,” while San Juan County Board of Commissioners Chair Austin Lashley praised the money as “a huge step toward realizing the full vision.”

The full vision, all of Baker’s Park’s 30 miles, could cost upward of $3 million, Branner said. Silverton Singletrack Society has reported about $1.7 million raised to date.