Governor Polis Announces Expanding Outdoor Recreation Opportunities on Pikes Peak

The Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance (PPORA) is excited to support Governor Jared Polis’ recent announcement regarding the expansion of Colorado’s outdoor recreation on Pikes Peak through a new land management partnership. This innovative approach promises to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities for the people of Colorado and visitors alike, while ensuring natural resource and wildlife are protected, starting with the completion and management of the Ring the Peak Trail. Partnership with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is at the core of these efforts, ensuring a balanced approach to recreation and conservation.

In his announcement, Governor Polis emphasized the importance of this collaboration, stating, “This is an exciting partnership that will result in higher quality outdoor recreation opportunities that will allow for more people to enjoy the thriving Pikes Peak region, while better conserving America’s Mountain for future generations. This is just the first step in a multi-year plan to improve and expand world-class recreation opportunities like camping, fishing, hiking, and more on the majestic mountain in a way that benefits the landscape, our way of life, and local economy.”

PPORA’s Role and Vision

PPORA has been at the forefront of these efforts since 2021, bringing together federal, state, and local partners to foster a united vision for the Pikes Peak region. As the region’s designated Colorado Outdoor Regional Partner, PPORA is leading the Outdoor Pikes Peak Initiative (OPPI), conducting extensive planning and assessment, including review of prior and current planning, a land manager needs assessment, outdoor industry assessment, extensive public engagement (through listening sessions in our region’s three-county area, public surveys, and focus groups), management model analysis, natural resource and recreation mapping, development of a data hub and decision support tools. These efforts culminate in a draft vision plan, soon to be released, which outlines strategies and priority projects to enhance both conservation and recreation on Pikes Peak and throughout the region.

“Our collaboration with outdoor nonprofits, businesses, government entities, and community members has been instrumental in advancing outdoor priorities,” said Becky Leinweber, PPORA executive director. “We are grateful to the many partners who have continued to engage, build relationships, and work together through the last three years of planning work and for exploring innovative solutions for complex challenges, including this one for improved management.”

The Significance of Pikes Peak

OPPI is a regional initiative, focusing on El Paso, Fremont, and Teller counties. Within this larger context, Pikes Peak and its “recreation sheds” was identified as a critical Area of Focus (AOF) due to the growing pressures from the expanding Colorado Springs population, creating an intensifying management problem. Management solutions were explored for this AOF, resulting in the joint Letter of Intent from local and federal

land managers. The Ring the Peak Trail project, a long-standing vision advanced by Friends of the Peak and the Trails and Open Space Coalition, is now poised for completion and effective management, thanks to this collaborative approach.

What This Means for Outdoor Enthusiasts

Nothing will happen right away in terms of user experience, but in time we now feel confident the Ring the Peak Trail (RTP) will be completed, improved, and managed well. This has been envisioned for decades, advanced by both Friends of the Peak early on and the Trails and Open Space Coalition who completed the Ring the Peak Master Plan in 2019 to close the trail gap and has advanced work on five trail segments. With increased desirability of enjoying the outdoors, growth of Colorado Springs, and demands on land managers that exceeded their capacity – hopes for completing the trail were dimmed as the management gap was too significant to overcome with a traditional approach.

PPORA applauds our land managers for embracing this cooperative model and urges further expansion of this approach to ensure exceptional management, conservation, and recreation opportunities across Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain.

This initiative marks a promising beginning, and PPORA is committed to building on this momentum to meet the needs of our community as identified through the OPPI.