Work to build access roads, walking trails, and a visitors’ center is expected to soon get underway in and near a new state park in Colorado.
Located near the town of Trinidad in southern Colorado, the 19,000-acre park will also include a sanctioned habitat for such wildlife as mountain lions, black bears, elk, and mule deer.
In announcing the creation of the park, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said that it will serve to ease pressure on the other already designated 41 parks in Colorado that are experiencing record levels of visitors.
“In the last five years alone, we’ve gone from 11.9 million visitor days to 15 million visitor days,” said Polis.
The new park, which does not yet have an official name, will be situated near the 9,633 foot-tall Fishers Peak, the tallest such peak in the country to the east of Interstate 25.
Currently only accessible by roads coming up from New Mexico, the park will see the construction of new roads making it easier for visitors to reach the park from such cities as Colorado Springs, 20 miles to the east; and Denver, 100 miles to the north.
The $25 million purchase of the land comprising the new park was made by two conservation groups, as well as two Colorado public entities: the Great Outdoors Colorado and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department.
The planning process for the new park is now underway, with infrastructure work expected to begin either later this year or early next year.
It is anticipated that the new park will open no later than January of 2021.
By Garry Boulard
