BOULDER, Colo. — A project is now underway to improve trails and protect sensitive natural areas around the popular Mount Sanitas west of Boulder.
About a month ago, Denver7 brought you the news about the planned trail repairs and construction on Mount Sanitas. As the project officially starts, we're taking a look at what work will be completed first, and what you can expect if you visit the trail system often.
This multi-year effort will improve the trails and restore sensitive natural areas, according to Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP). The 678-acre Mount Sanitas area is one of the most popular trail systems around Boulder, with between 300,000 and 375,000 visitors each year, the department reported.
With all of those visitors, the area takes quite a beating and unofficial social trails now run up and down the steep slopes of the mountain, which are prone to erosion.
Creating more durable trail infrastructure on Mount Sanitas will help with the OSMP's annual maintenance savings, which will make way for trail crews to complete repairs on other parts of the system, the city previously said.
Funds for this project came from two places: a $1.1 million grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife for the National Parks Service, for OSMP, plus fundraising spearheaded by the Boulder Open Space Conservancy, which is the official philanthropic partner of OSMP.
So, what is planned for this current phase of the project? Here's what the City of Boulder said:
- Repairs and improvements along the main Mount Sanitas Trail, which connects the summit to Mapleton Drive
- Conduct significant repairs to the approach to the summit of Mount Sanitas (on both the Mount Sanitas and East Ridge trails)
- Close and restore undesignated trails, which can reduce the size of natural areas that wildlife and plants need to thrive
In this first year of work, no full trail closures are expected, but intermittent delays may occur.
In the future, OSMP said it plans to do more work, including:
- Design and construct a new trail to connect neighborhoods located northeast of Mount Sanitas to the OSMP trail network
- Design and construct a new trail to provide access to historically significant rock quarries on the mountain
- Add infrastructure around the eight bouldering formations on the Mount Sanitas trail, including adding gathering space in bouldering areas, steps, fencing and signage
These objectives were laid out in the 2011 West Trail Study Area (WTSA) Plan.
“Mount Sanitas is an iconic Boulder open space area that has created special outdoor experiences for generations of community members and visitors from near and far,” said Alyson Duffey, executive director of the Boulder Open Space Conservancy. “We value our strong partnership with Open Space and Mountain Parks, and we look forward to continuing our shared work to ensure future generations can enjoy and protect Mount Sanitas.”
The work is expected to continue into 2027.
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