The Buffalo Rose was packed to the rafters last night for Scott Grossman's update on the Clear Creek Trail. This was Scott's third visit to Golden Beer Talks. His first was in 2017, when the group met at the much-smaller Windy Saddle on the other side of Washington Avenue. He also gave a quick update at the 100th Beer Talk celebration in 2025, so regular attendees have been able to watch this monumental project roll out over time.
Among the interesting things we learned last night:
- This project seems very local to Golden residents, but it's drawing national attention.
- When they're surveying a new segment of trail, they have to factor in not only topography but historical artifacts, endangered species, current uses, and of course safety of future users.
- He praised Great Outdoors Colorado, which uses lottery proceeds to fund parks and trails.
- This trail is being built in partnership with several other entities and will eventually connect four counties.
- Jefferson County originally called this project the Peaks to Plains Trail. We adopted the current name, "Clear Creek Trail," because some of our partners were already using that name.
- The first section of this trail opened in 2016. That segment was four miles long. An additional 1.75 miles opened in 2021. Another 1.5 miles will open on November 6th!
- The question Scott hears most frequently is "When will it be done?" That depends on funding, which in turn depends on economic and political conditions. They have the next couple of years of construction covered and they'll keep applying for grants as they become available.
