The Ridge desk. Written from the city's pages and the groups' own sites; a canyon volunteer reads it before it prints. When a neighbor takes this desk, their name goes here.
Rain or snow, and the trails hold it.
Friends of Red Rock Canyon says wait a day or two, because they stay muddy and fragile for 24 to 48 hours.
Follow 21st down to Bear Creek, then keep going west.
Around 30th and 31st the asphalt gives up.
The red sandstone takes over.
Red Rock Canyon is the pocket to the south.
The city bought it in 2003, after it had been slated for a resort with high-rise towers and a private golf course. The city's open space page lists it among the places TOPS, the sales tax voters passed for open space, made possible.
It nearly went the other way.
Parking. The 31st Street trailhead has more than the High Street lots. No e-bikes in the open space.
This fall. The Garden of the Gods Visitor Center, 1805 N 30th, runs a free bighorn sheep program with a touch table, Mondays 10 to 10:45 a.m. through Nov 30.
Owls of the Garden is Oct 26, 12:30 to 1:30. Tickets from $5, sign up first.
Oct 31, 1 to 2 p.m., a talk on why wolves in Colorado.
The Garden's calendar has details.
What's being decided. The Park System Master Plan goes to City Council next: the city's page lists Oct 12, a Monday work session where they talk but don't vote, and Oct 27, after the parks board heard it Oct 8.
White Acres Trail is becoming the Don Ellis Trail. The board approved it Aug 13; it waits on an agreement and an $850 city fee.
Fire restrictions: the city's page shows none this week, and we are checking with the fire department. We'll tell you what we hear.
The seed rule. Some copies of this paper will carry a strip of Colorado native seed. Yards and community gardens, yes; parks, open space, the creek, the trails and anything that burned, no. The whole rule, and what's in the strip.
Groups to join. Friends of Red Rock Canyon keeps up the benches and runs Talk and Walks, resuming soon (no date yet).
The Trails and Open Space Coalition takes members and runs the One Bag Challenge cleanups.
Friends of Garden of the Gods runs volunteer days.
Our promise. Every Monday this desk reads the city's parks pages, and a canyon volunteer reads them with us. If nothing's new, we'll say so.
Which trail was muddy this week? Tell me and I'll pass it along.