Pending approval from the U.S. Forest Service, the Town of Breckenridge could begin construction this summer on one of two new non-motorized trails designed to improve safety, expand trail access and connect growing residential complexes to the broader recreational network north and south of town. 

The proposed trails — tentatively dubbed the second Aspen Alley Trail and the North Barton Trail — are currently under review by the White River National Forest, which opened a public comment period on Monday, May 11, as part of its review of Breckenridge’s proposal. Comments will be accepted through Tuesday, June 9. 

The proposed 1.3-mile Aspen Alley Trail would connect the Breckenridge Sawmill Museum with the Boreas Pass Trailhead southeast of town. It would run nearly adjacent to the existing Aspen Alley Trail — one of, if not the most popular recreational trail in Breckenridge. 

The proposed North Barton Trail would connect the existing Barton Creek Trail Loop with the intersection of Airport Road and Coyne Valley Road on the north side of Breckenridge near the Runway development. 

If approved, the town’s current special use permit would be amended to allow the Town of Breckenridge to manage the North Barton Trail and to allow both the town and Summit County Open Space and Trails department to manage the new Aspen Alley Trail, both under agreements with the Forest Service administration. 

Aspen Alley Trail

Duke Barlow, Breckenridge’s open space and trails manager, said the Aspen Alley proposal has been years in the making, as the town has tried to address increasing conflicts between trail users on one of the area’s most highly trafficked routes. The current trail has grown increasingly crowded with hikers, runners and bikers, particularly during the fall when the leaves change from green to vivid gold, orange and red.

“We’ve been trying to solve safety issues on Aspen Alley Trail for years now,” Barlow said. “The trail is incredibly popular with both bikers and hikers, and in the fall when the aspens turn, the popularity has really boomed.” 

Under the proposal, Barlow said the existing Aspen Alley Trail would primarily serve downhill bikers, while the new adjacent trail would accommodate hikers traveling in both directions, along with uphill cyclists riding at slower paces. Barlow said separating users by travel type and speed is intended to reduce dangerous encounters that occur not just in the autumn. 

“Even other times of year, the trail is fun to descend fast on a bike, but also popular with hikers and runners and uphill bikers,” Barlow said. “We thought a great way to reduce user conflict was to provide a second trail that would be catered to hikers going both directions and uphill bikers.” 

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The proposed new Aspen Alley alignment would run near the existing trail but remain visually separated by dense vegetation, according to Barlow. He said the second Aspen Alley route might actually provide even better views of the aspen grove and valley below. 

“In some sense, it’s going to be close to the existing trail,” he said. “I think the alignments are going to provide a nice user experience, because the undergrowth is so dense there. It’s a lush south-facing slope, so you don’t really feel the nearby trail because there’s so many plants and bushes.” 

Barlow added that the second trail through Aspen Alley would be built at a gentler grade suited for uphill travel and scenic views overlooking the valley.

“The new trail alignment is a comfortable grade — it’s never too steep, so it’ll be okay for hiking uphill or biking uphill,” Barlow said. “It’s also a little further south than the existing trail, so you’re still on the aspen grove and get that experience, but you can get a nice view of the valley with that neutral alignment.”

Barlow said safety concerns along Aspen Alley persist throughout the year, not just during peak visitation periods. 

“The truth is, there are safety concerns during the entire summer,” Barlow said. “Maybe a biker is going down at a faster speed when it’s less busy and there’s still a chance for a dangerous conflict.”

North Barton Trail

Barlow said the second proposed path starting near the 800 block of Airport Road would improve trail connectivity for residents living in rapidly developing neighborhoods along the Blue River on the north side of town. Barlow said if the Runway project is fully built out, the residential corridor along the Blue River would have 800 individual housing units. 

“We have a growing residential base with all this housing being built on the valley floor along the Blue River on the northern edge of town,” Barlow said. “We want to provide a sort of on-ramp for these residents to be able to get onto our trail system.” 

He said the trail would essentially connect residents from the Breckenridge Recycling Center on Coyne Valley Road southwest to a connecting trail called Burton Trail, which then connects to the Peaks Trail. 

“With the forest there, there aren’t great connections from this valley bottom, so this is an opportunity to connect people to the west side of the valley,” Burton said. 

Most of the proposed trail corridors reside on U.S. Forest Service land, requiring federal approval before construction can begin. As part of the ongoing review, which began in late March, the Forest Service is conducting public scoping and gathering input from residents, stakeholders and agency specialists to determine the feasibility of the project. 

“They have field specialists look at the proposed project, so that’s going to be botanists and archaeologists and wildlife biologists that take a close look at potential impacts within those fields,” Barlow said.

Ideal timeline

Barlow said the Breckenridge Open Space Advisory Committee has debated the proposals at length and ultimately approved the plans sent to the Forest Service. If approved this summer, Barlow said construction along Aspen Alley could begin this year.

“We would want to build the Aspen Alley Trail later this summer before the busy fall,” Barlow said.

As for the North Barton Trail, he said, “we may start on it this fall, but we wouldn’t be able to complete it until next summer.”

Additional information about the proposals and public comment process is available at the White River National Forest project page online. Comments can be submitted through June 9 at the Forest Service’s comment portal.