An award announced Tuesday will get trails along the Poudre River within 5 miles of connecting multiple cities and towns across northern Colorado.
Great Outdoors Colorado — an agency that manages and distributes a portion of Colorado lottery proceeds — has awarded $5.1 million to multiple jurisdictions to get them within 5-miles of completing the Poudre trail system.
Once complete, the Poudre River trail will stretch about 45 miles from Bellvue north of Fort Collins, to Island Grove Park in Greeley.
The Poudre River Corridor and Regional Trail Initiative currently has about a 6-mile gap within Larimer County to the border with Weld County.
The $5.1 million grant will help build just 2 miles of trail, but will also fund two new trailheads — one in Fort Collins, and one in Timnath — and will help the counties purchase still needed trail easements and open space protections to surround the river trails.
Once these parts of the project are complete, Larimer County and other cities will consider seeking another grant to finish the trails.
The Poudre project is one of 42 projects Great Outdoors Colorado funded this year.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or
