YOUR AD HERE »

Trail link to Droste opens

Janet Urquhart
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado

SNOWMASS VILLAGE – A newly built, 2-mile trail that links Snowmass Village to the Droste open space became accessible to the public on Thursday afternoon.

“We’re already getting feedback,” said Gary Tennenbaum, land steward for Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, on Friday morning. “It seemed like as soon as I opened it, there were at least 20 people riding it last night.”

The trail, with an average grade of 6.5 percent, can be reached from Lowline Trail, accessed off Highline Road near the Brush Creek roundabout in Snowmass Village. It climbs upward onto the Seven Star open space and then the Droste property.



The trail was constructed quickly by a Snowmass Village crew and 40 volunteers with the Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers who labored on the steep first mile last weekend, on National Trails Day. Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association members were also involved.

The new trail link creates an opportunity for hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers to do a loop that takes in the newly open Droste open space, where the trail traverses the scenic ridge that separates the Brush Creek and Owl Creek valleys.




Open space officials report nearly daily telephone calls from people wanting to know how they can access the property, which first opened to the public last month.

On the Snowmass Village side, parking is available at the Town Park/Rodeo Lot.

Access to Droste is also available from Radar Road, accessible off Owl Creek Road on the back side of the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport. The closest available parking to Radar Road is at Buttermilk (not at the airport operations building).

A reminder: Dogs are not allowed on the Droste and Seven Star parcels.

The acquisition of the Droste property will be the subject of a 3 p.m. celebration on June 28 at the Snowmass Town Park pavilion, followed by an invitation to hike, bike or ride a horse up onto the open space.

janet@aspentimes.com