Weld County’s Great Western Trail offers adventures and views close to home
Currently, the Great Western Trail runs from Eaton to Roulard Lake east of Severance. It continues in Severance to Greeley #2 Ditch in Windsor. A trestle bridge crosses Roulard Lake near the trail’s end. Photo by Emily Kemme.
By Emily Kemme
Weld County has a lot to offer its residents and visitors in terms of outdoor recreation. There are municipal and private golf courses, tennis facilities, skateboard parks, ballparks and the Poudre River Trail Corridor, which will link Island Grove Regional Park in Greeley to Watson Lake State Wildlife Area in Bellvue. By the end of 2023, the trail will offer 44 contiguous miles of paved path for pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorized vehicles.
But to truly experience Weld’s agricultural underpinnings, the Great Western Trail is a relatively new destination for adventurers to get immersed in the area’s surrounding farmland.
The GWT is currently 8.5 miles long. The slightly undulating soft surface trail runs from Cheyenne Avenue in Eaton to Roulard Lake just west of County Road 27. There is a 1.5 mile gap between the lake to Severance, where the trail picks up again for 3 miles running to the northeast corner of Windsor and Greeley #2 Ditch. The remaining segment should be completed this year, making the total trail length 10.5 miles.
If that sounds like a lot of cornfield to be walking or cycling through, you’re exactly right.
“There’s not a lot of traffic out there, but that’s the beauty of it,” Great Western Trail manager Andy Nagel said. “There’s great panoramic views and you’ll get a sense of the farming economy and what life is about here in Weld County.”
GWT is part of the federal Rails-to-Trails program, enacted by Congress in 1983 to create public recreational trails on abandoned rail beds. The act included a section known as railbanking: it allows a railroad to donate rail lines they intend to cease train operations on and donate that land to a municipal or non-profit agency.
Nagel said the legislation’s underlying purpose was for national security; it allowed railroad companies to retain large stretches of right-of-way that crisscross the United States. It recognized that if at some point in the future the rail lines needed to be reestablished, the cost of buying and reconstructing those pathways would be prohibitive once they had reverted to private ownership.
“The result is the act’s allowed the railroads to donate their right-of-way to a non-profit organization like the Great Western Trail Authority to create these public trail systems,” he said.
The Rails-to-Trails conservancy reports 2,368 rail-trails consisting of 25,271 miles of trails currently in the country. Colorado has 44 rail-trails, totaling 316 miles.
To experience Weld County’s agricultural underpinnings, the Great Western Trail is a destination where adventurers can get immersed in the area’s surrounding farmland. Photo by Emily Kemme.
The GWT segment was built in 1905 by the Great Western Railroad to transport sugar beets from farms to processing plants along a 12.6 mile rail line between Eaton and Windsor. The line operated freight and passenger service for decades. Passenger service ended in 1972, and by 1977, when the Great Western Sugar Company began hauling sugar beets by truck, the rail line was idled.
The Great Western railway line was railbanked by current owner, Omnitrax, in 2004; the rails and railroad ties were removed at that time.
The GWTA was founded in 2006 by an intergovernmental agreement between Eaton, Severance and Windsor to establish the entity to accept the donation of the railroad right-of-way. A trail board composed of volunteer members from the three participating communities was created to develop, raise money for, construct and operate the GWT.
To date, the organization has raised $1.5 million through grants that have been used for the trail’s construction, Nagel said. The bulk of the grants come through Transportation Alternative Programs from the Federal Highway Administration; other funds are sourced from Colorado state trails programs and matching funds from the three participating towns.
Nagel said they expect to complete trail construction by the end of this year. They’ve recently put the remaining 1.5 mile segment out to bid and hope to select a contractor within a couple weeks.
The Great Western Trail Foundation will focus operations to enhance and add amenities once the basic trail is completed. Plans include landscaping, benches, trailhead facilities in Severance and Eaton for parking and bike storage and restrooms at the trailheads and along the trail.
Nagle said one of the things that has driven this project is that rural areas don’t often get the same recreational opportunities that urban and mountain areas have access to. Additionally, the shoulders are narrow on county roads and drivers are often moving at higher speeds than city traffic, making it less safe for cyclists.
He thinks it’s a unique location and will have a unique facility to match.
“It’s an opportunity to serve rural communities and be a destination for adventurers to explore,” he said.
For more
To experience the Great Western Trail, go to the website for trail maps and other information, or email info@gwtrail.com | Trail is restricted to pedestrian and bicycle traffic; no motorized vehicles allowed | Leashed dogs are welcome | Please stay on the trail at all times to avoid trespassing on private property adjacent to the trail.