Trail Love volunteer Dig Days

Hello to all riders and trail users in the Pikes Peak region!

At MedWheel, we all love trails because they provide us with a connection to the natural world, as we receive physical, mental and even spiritual healing from being on trails. And just as trails heal us, it feels right to heal the trails when they need it – and to create new trail experiences!

Monsoons, unstable soils, and increasing use all contribution to trail damage. Trail Love is MedWheel’s volunteer dig day program which has been a foundation of our organization since our beginnings in 1991. We constantly hear from our members that Trail Love dig days are personally fulfilling, and that volunteers remember the sections of trail that they’ve worked on every time they ride them.

MedWheel volunteers have performed Trail Love on multiple trails in public spaces throughout the region including:

  • Palmer Park
  • Ute Valley Park
  • Red Rock Canyon Open Space
  • Stratton Open Space
  • Garden of the Gods Park
  • North Cheyenne Canyon Park
  • Bear Creek Regional Park
  • Cheyenne Mountain State Park
  • USFS trails including Buckhorn, Jacks, 715 and others
  • Lake Moraine trail, CS Utilities north slope
  • and more

Dig days include a range of clean ups, drain enhancements, and tread repair tasks of existing trails. We also design and construct of new trails that have been approved through master planning processes.

The MedWheel Trail Committee welcomes all volunteers and groups to join in Trail Love. We provide equipment, expertise, tools and instruction. Please bring snacks and water, and dress for Colorado weather. Sturdy, closed toed footwear and long pants are generally recommended. If you have questions about a Trail Love dig day, or a suggestion for a location for Trail Love, please email us info ( at ) medwheel.org

The Trail Committee members can’t do this work alone and recognize the invaluable support of volunteers. We welcome any and all to join us on these Trail Love work days, no experience necessary. Trail Love opportunities are generally posted on our website through our Event Calendar.

We look forward to working with all you Trail Lovers out there!

2023 Plans

For 2023 the first part of our Trail Love season will mainly focus on construction of new trails. Getting permission to build new trails on publicly accessible land is relatively rare, and we’re fortunate to have 2 great opportunities for new trail this spring.

  1. Forest Lakes trail – located on the south side of Monument, we’re building 1.5mi of trail adjacent to National Forest, and connecting to the El Paso County’s regional trail.
  2. Bristol – Mesa Open Space connector – a relatively short but important connector between Bristol Park at Mesa avenue, and Mesa Reservoir #2 open space. This trail will incorporate sections of the fascinating historic El Paso Canal.