Colorado Parks and Wildlife dedicated a new pedestrian bridge on Thursday in Eldorado Canyon State Park, where steep sandstone cliffs and precipitous crags have lured expert rock climbers from around the world since the 1970s.
The 15-ton bridge across South Boulder Creek in the canyon was delivered in two pieces, assembled and set in place by crane in August. The project was funded by a $240,000 grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and managed by CPW, according to a news release. Another $105,000 was contributed by anonymous donors.
While the bridge does not provide access to hiking trails in the park, it does offer better access to the West Ridge and Redgarden Wall climbing routes. It also will provide better access for first responders.
“We are excited how this project will enhance visitor access and safety while preserving the park’s unique character,” CPW assistant director for Outdoor Recreation and Lands Fletcher Jacobs said in the release. “Eldorado Canyon has long been recognized as a premier climbing destination, and this project will help continue that legacy.”
Generations of rock climbers have flocked to “Eldo” since it became a hotbed for cutting-edge technical climbing in the late 1960s. The narrow canyon’s 700-foot walls have hundreds of routes. While most are highly technical and strictly for experts, there are some beginner routes. Next year, CPW is planning “extensive” repairs to the Redgarden Wall trail.
The park also caters to hikers, anglers, photographers and picnickers. Timed-entry reservations are required for entrance to the inner canyon from May 1 until Oct. 1.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Adventurist, to get outdoors news sent straight to your inbox.
Related Posts:
- Porter Ranch resident hopes crowd-sourcing of gas to all-electric homes will help close Aliso Canyon News Isaam Najm has a strategy for closing the Aliso Canyon gas fields. But it is definitely a long-term approach. In fact, 10 years after the gas field blow-out released 109,000 metric tons of methane and other gases into the atmosphere for four months, the gas field is predicted to remain…
- After the Aliso Canyon blowout volunteers organized, spoke out, got governor’s ear News When re-examining the response to the massive methane blowout at Aliso Canyon 10 years ago, don’t look in the obvious places for leaders who stepped into the breach. What some Porter Ranch residents call their “local heroes” came from residents at nearby churches, housing association boards, and a small city…
- 10 years after Aliso Canyon gas blowout disaster, families still live with uncertainty News The cough doesn’t follow a pattern. A dry, sudden hack that catches Gabriel Khanlian in the middle of a conversation, while cooking dinner, or sitting quietly at home in Porter Ranch. “We call it the ‘Aliso Canyon Cough.’” Khanlian said Oct. 3. “ You’ll be surprised how many of us have…
- Residents still waiting for full results of Aliso Canyon disaster health study a decade later News In the immediate aftermath of the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas blowout – the largest natural gas leak in U.S. history – residents in the San Fernando Valley demanded to know exactly what toxins or other chemicals they had been exposed to and what that would mean for their health. For…
- SoCalGas paid out more than $2 billion in settlements from Aliso Canyon gas leak News The Aliso Canyon blowout, the largest gas leak in U.S. history, sparked hundreds of lawsuits, government penalties and, much to the anger of residents, a single misdemeanor criminal charge. The settlements and fines from the disaster cost the gas well’s operator, Southern California Gas Co. and its parent company, Sempra…
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)