The Bay to Bay Trail at Horsetooth Reservoir has gained some shiny new accolades. The Colorado Trails Symposium awarded it the Golden McLeod Award for its innovative take on trail construction and maintenance. This trail is not your garden-variety path; it's a 1.8-mile tricky traverse across precarious topography connecting South Bay to Inlet Bay, previously unreachable for those wanting to hike or bike the peninsula.
Challenges were more than just minor speed bumps; they were steep, rocky ridgelines and a dance with dense vegetation, the likes of wild plums and cedars, if you will. The Larimer County Trail Crew, with an assist from the Larimer County Conservation Corps and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC), tackled it all with nothing but their hands and sheer determination. A notable event involved over 130 VOC volunteers dedicating a weekend to building the trail in May, according to Larimer County.
Environmental consciousness was a key player in its creation, with deliberate detours around sensitive flora such as mountain mahogany shrubs and bell's twinpod. The trail also keeps a low profile along the hogback ridgeline, minimizing its visual impact. Tools? Mostly natural rock sourced from the location, carved into a moderate-level trail boasting grand views of the reservoir.
