Regional Trails Program

The Boulder County Regional Trails program is a multi-year effort to plan, design and construct a series of soft-surface multi-use trails that connect communities within Boulder County. The Community Planning and Permitting (CP&P) Department focuses its trail planning and development on regional trails that are multi-use and serve as both transportation and recreational corridors.

Regional Trails CIP – Brief summary of Regional Trail needs
Regional Trail Program Map – Map of existing and planned regional trails. Note: Must use Version 9 or later of Adobe Reader to view.

For information on the use of e-bikes on county open space and trails, visit the Parks and Open Space website.

Funding

Completion of the Regional Trails Program relies on a variety of funding sources for planning, designing, and construction. Boulder County, along with area cities and towns, has funded many of the improvements through partnerships, federal grants, and in-house work programs. Individual and youth groups have also volunteered to construct many of the trail segments.

County funding for regional trails comes from a combination of Open Space funding from the Parks and Open Space Department and the transportation capital improvement fund passed by voters in 2001. In 2007, the Capital Improvements Fund was extended by voters and anticipated to fund just over $10 million in regional trail improvements through 2024.

Project Priorities

Trail project priorities were assessed by staff from East Boulder County cities and Boulder County with input from the public in 2002-2003. This resulted in recommendations for 5 first priority and 5 second priority trail projects to the Board of County Commissioners, who adopted the priorities on April 15, 2003.

Priority Criteria:

Transportation value (missing links, populations served, safety improvements, connecting resources, and alternative modes benefit).
Feasibility (estimated costs, funding availability, environmental impacts, constructability).
Equitability (serve multiple jurisdictions and multiple user types)