We are actively involved in a number of local trails projects
Forest Service Projects:
Forest Service Projects:
- Mancos Spur: The Mancos Trails Group has been working with the Forest Service to adopt, resign, and re-brand what was once envisioned as the Mancos Spur of the Colorado Trail. This project does not require building any new trails, rather assisting the Forest Service to maintain and steward some of the local trails in our backyard. The spur includes Chicken Creek Trail, West Mancos Trail, and the Sharkstooth Trail. It travels from Jackson Lake at Mancos State Park to the Colorado Trail near Taylor Lake. In August 2022 we celebrated the grand re-opening of the Mancos Spur. MTG has an Adopt-a-Trail program where volunteers can adopt a section of trail to maintain throughout the year. Email us for more information if you'd like to adopt a section!
- Chicken Creek Area trails: After final approval was granted in December 2020, trail construction began in 2021. Two new trails, the Blue Jay Trail (approx. 4 miles) and the Lost Chicken Trail (approx. 6 miles), are accessible from the Chicken Creek Trailhead located on Road 40 just a few miles north of Mancos. In 2022, work was completed on the remaining 2 miles of trails. Together with the existing trails, this makes a system with about 18 miles of trail. This adds to a fantastic network of non motorized trails in the ponderosa pine forest close to town.
Bureau of Land Management Project:
- Aqueduct Area: Approved in December of 2020, this new 11.7 mile trail system is on the BLM Aqueduct parcel 2 miles northwest of Mancos. During the 2021 trail season, MTG volunteers worked a lot of days to build the first 4 miles of trail. In 2022, the remaining trails are being construction and plans are to wrap up the project in the Fall. These new trails will be open to non-motorized uses and e-bikes. This terrain is truly unique and the views are spectacular! This will be incredibly accessible to folks that live in Mancos.
Town of Mancos Projects
Past Projects
Town of Mancos Trails Master Plan
- Paths to Mesa Verde: Mancos Trails supports this project which would connect the Town of Mancos to Mesa Verde National Park via an accessible, multi-use trail.
- Mancos Town Trail System: MTG has played a leading role in developing the new Mancos Town Trail System. If you've walked through town and noticed the tracks of a giant blue moose, a huge yellow mountain lion or a big red fox, you've seen the trail! This trail system connects the three town parks. Eventually, there will be additional trail markers as well four "trailhead" kiosks, one at each park and one right downtown. These kiosks will contain maps and information about the Town Trail System as well as highlight research and work done by students at the Mancos School. In fact, the Mancos fourth graders have been painting the tracks (they also researched animals and chose the three we used), and the welding class is constructing the kiosks. This project is a collaboration between MTG, the Town of Mancos, Mancos School RE-6, and the San Juan Mountains Association. Funding comes from the Town, SJMA, the Ballantine Family Fund, the Onward! Foundation and Osprey.
Past Projects
- Cottonwood Park Trail: In 2017, MTG volunteers helped complete the gravel trail that winds through Cottonwood Park
Town of Mancos Trails Master Plan
- This plan, adopted by the Town of Mancos in 2012, is Mancos Trails' guiding document. Read the Trails Master Plan here. In 2022 work began on updated the Master Plan.
