Bay to Bay Trail opens at Horsetooth Reservoir, connecting popular play areas - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
Bay to Bay Trail opens at Horsetooth Reservoir, connecting popular play areas
Miles Blumhardt- A new 1.8-mile trail, the Bay to Bay Trail, has opened at Horsetooth Reservoir, connecting South Bay and Inlet Bay.
- The moderate-difficulty trail is open to hikers and bikers, but not horseback riders.
Horsetooth Reservoir's newest trail is open, connecting two of the reservoir's more popular areas.
The 1.8-mile soft-surface Bay to Bay Trail connecting South Bay to Inlet Bay opened May 23, according to a Larimer County Department of Natural Resources news release.
The new trail weaves along the peninsula at the southern part of Inlet Bay to the swim beach at South Bay, eliminating the need to drive from one bay to the other.
Access to the trail is from the Blue Sky Trail Trailhead near Inlet Bay or in the parking area at Horsetooth Reservoir's South Bay near the swim beach.
The 2-foot-wide trail is rated as moderate as it winds near the shoreline and through mountain mahogany shrublands while offering views of the reservoir.
The trail is open to hikers and bikers but not horseback riders because of its "steep cross slope, exposed ridges, rocky terrain and limited horse trailer parking," according to the county's news release.
Funding for the $150,000 trail included $75,000 from a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation grant and $34,400 from a Great Outdoors Colorado grant, according to previous Coloradoan reporting.
Larimer County Conservation Corps and trail-building volunteers helped build the trail, including more than 130 volunteers with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado who spent a weekend helping Larimer County staff finish its final sections.
The new addition pushed the county's number of trail miles over 100 across its open spaces. There are more than 1,000 miles of natural surface trails across all public lands in Larimer County.
Horsetooth Reservoir is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Larimer County manages recreation on the popular reservoir.
For Bay to Bay Trail conditions, closures and alerts, check the Colorado Trail Explorer website.
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
| Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80522 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7005 tcla...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org |