Cañon City has added another trail to its vaunted, ever-growing network. And this one is unlike any other.

That’s the word from Ashlee Sack of Fremont Adventure Recreation (FAR), the nonprofit that for the past decade has helped put the Royal Gorge region on the mountain biking map by helping to fund and plan trail construction.

FAR did just that with Royal Cascade Trail — a name that “really speaks to the poetry of that particular trail,” Sack said.

“I need a thesaurus to really explain how pretty that trail is,” Sack said. “It’s an assault on the senses.”

To be celebrated at a ribbon cutting Saturday, the trailhead is situated 1.7 miles up Tunnel Drive, the scenic, river-side route frequented by hikers, runners and cyclists close to town. From between the rugged walls of the canyon, Royal Cascade switchbacks a heart-pounding, quad-burning 3.6 miles over 1,800 feet of elevation.

Between breaks, users will take in views that expand with every turn. The trail connects to Summit Trail within Royal Gorge Park, near the base of Fremont Peak. A hiking-only path leads to the top of the panoramic peak above 7,200 feet.

Royal Cascade was envisioned in a 2015 master plan as a way to link a lower trail system — South Cañon’s singletrack is not far from Tunnel Drive — with the uppermost Royal Gorge Park, which covers about 22 miles of trail.

“It’s linking two iconic points,” Sack said, “but it will also offer something that I think is akin to Manitou’s Incline. It’s something incredibly challenging. It’s something a little different that not every community has.”

It’s different for FAR, which has never overseen a trail tied to seasonal closures.

In plotting management across the land owned by the city and Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Parks and Wildlife advised Royal Cascade be closed to foot and bike traffic throughout June and July. That’s for bighorn sheep lambing.

In September and October, the trail will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. — accounting for the small group of permitted hunters who roam the area in the dawn and dusk hours.

“We are embracing the opportunity to educate our community about what a seasonal closure is, and how we as mountain bikers and hikers are able to support both our wildlife populations and other user groups,” Sack said. “Seasonal closures exist in many other places across Colorado because they have vulnerable wildlife populations, and we are included in that.”

At all other times, explorers will pick their route and mode of travel.

Sack’s preference: riding her bike the 1.7 miles up Tunnel Drive to the Royal Cascade trailhead, where a rack is expected, locking her wheels there, and hiking/running Royal Cascade out and back for a trip totaling more than 10 miles.

Otherwise, she said she’ll embark with fellow riders, parking one car at Tunnel Drive and driving another up Royal Gorge Park, riding for miles there before dropping down Royal Cascade.

Sack said a friend recently pedaled up Royal Cascade and back down, “and she said it was brutal,” Sack said. “It can be done, but I don’t know if I will ride up that more than once in my life.”

For the steepness and exposure, the trail is rated double black diamond. People should think about their fitness and preparedness before taking on the trail, Sack said.

“We really want people to keep first responders and our search and rescue team in mind,” she said. “Make sure you’re not putting undue, extra work on those folks.”

Saturday’s ribbon cutting is set for 2 p.m. at the Tunnel Drive base.

Contact the writer: [email protected]