In northwest Colorado Springs, at the former base of a company that for generations mined the mountainside above, a long bridge crosses over a drainage and into the hills.

The bridge lends to “a gateway experience,” said David Deitemeyer, who oversaw its construction with the city Parks Department. “Or this experience of arrival.” 

From a historic scene of blight to a modern scene of recreation.

The city has opened a much-anticipated expansion of Blodgett Open Space, including about 7 miles of trail from the new Quarry Trailhead. The 50-space parking lot is named for the Pikeview Quarry, turning green from reclamation in clear, full view. Blodgett Bike Hill, meanwhile, is named for the 2 ½ miles of downhill mountain bike-only trails built here.

The mix of green-, blue- and black-rated trails go by names such as Neurotoxin, Coil Cañon and Fang Drop ー warning of rattlesnakes and challenges Timberline TrailCraft aimed to achieve. The downhill trails are reached from Culebras Trail, open to out-and-back hikers and bikers pedaling up to a “hub.” From there, they can drop 430-plus feet on trails that twist and turn, swoop through big berms and fly over wooden ramps and imported rock. 

“It’s going to be quite the addition to our region, unlike anything we’ve ever really had,” said Glenn Carlson, executive director of Trails and Open Space Coalition.

Cory Sutela, with mountain biking advocacy group Medicine Wheel, sees Blodgett Bike Hill representing the “evolution” of the sport that has grown with more capable bikes and more riders preferring technical, downhill thrills. Locally, the evolution was signaled in 2019 with the Chutes Trail being reclassified for downhill bikes only. Other designations have come to Ute Valley Park and Austin Bluffs Open Space over the years.

But nothing quite provides the opportunity for laps and lengths like Blodgett Bike Hill provides, Sutela said. “This is a significant increase in the single-direction opportunities in our system, no doubt about that,” he said. 

Still, as trails “bed in,” he tempered expectations for riders early on: “Timberline is a good builder, but I think trails are never perfect the day you finish them and they often require a little tuneup. So certainly I would give it some time for that.” 

And Sutela expected not all appetites would be satiated, including for some who have long ridden the trail known as Fenceline that Parks officials deemed unsustainable.

“The city with its resources has a responsibility to make trails in a way that addresses the needs of a broad swath of people,” Sutela said ー much different from a summertime ski area. “This isn’t a place for people that have paid $100 for a lift ticket. This is a place for a community with a wide range of needs.”

Along with Culebras Trail rising to a scenic overlook, people on foot and horseback can take to the Chamberlain and Oak Valley trails. In the coming months, Deitemeyer said, the goal is to build or refurbish another 7 miles of trails connecting to the network spanning Blodgett Open Space beyond. 

In total, the project from the Quarry Trailhead will comprise about 14 miles of new and improved trail in what will be one of city Parks’ biggest trail expansions in recent memory. A hiking-only path will be included, Deitemeyer noted. 

“We still hear concerns about, you’re building too much mountain bike-only trails, there’s not enough hiking-only trails or it’s disproportionately placed in the open space,” he said. “We did our best through the master plan process to find the consensus, but we understand some folks will not be happy with the end result.” 

The hopeful result, he explained: “We have a tremendous amount of recreational use in our community, a lot of ultra users who are out using the trails every day. This is just more trail to enjoy and more opportunity to spread that love out.”

Spreading out and separating mountain bikers and hikers was a common theme of the Blodgett master plan, approved in 2024 after more than a year of meetings.

Another top concern remains so: the bighorn sheep that make Pikeview Quarry home. 

In May, after the city announced taking ownership of the quarry following state-approved reclamation in an arrangement years in the making, Colorado Parks and Wildlife asked people “to temporarily avoid the area in coming weeks and months to help reduce stress on ewes and young lambs during birth and early development.” 

Deitemeyer said the city delayed opening Blodgett Bike Hill based on CPW guidance. Future seasonal closures “will be based on specific wildlife monitoring with CPW on an annual basis,” he added. 

Also largely for the sake of the bighorn sheep, dogs are not allowed around the bike hill.

What may or may not be allowed on the adjacent quarry someday? 

“There will be a planning process and the bighorn sheep and other habitat will absolutely be part of the discussion,” Carlson said. 

Unofficial talks have regarded a “world-class” bike park. Sutela, fellow advocates and officials outside the Parks Department have envisioned an ultimate training ground and economic driver. Other onlookers have worried about displaced sheep.

“We’ll be watching with real big interest,” Sutela said. “What we do at Blodgett will play into what we do at Pikeview.”

But Deitemeyer has emphasized Blodgett Bike Hill as separate from the quarry. The land was considered separate from a complex deal that came together in 2020, when the city agreed to purchase this 152-acre “frontage” from the owning Castle Concrete ahead of the company’s ambitious reclamation. If successful and deemed safe, the city would adopt the quarry, as it did earlier this year.

But first and foremost was the frontage. “At that time, development for residential housing was imminent,” Deitemeyer said. 

Preservation was the goal then as it is now, he said, reflecting beside the bridge from the new Quarry Trailhead.

He looked up to the site of mined limestone used to build much of the city going back to 1903. The old, red scar was turning green with wavy grass. Near the top, Deitemeyer spotted bighorn sheep. 

“We are on the precipice of changing the story and changing the legacy of that ー from a scar on the mountain to now a community gem,” he said. “We’ve still got to write that story.”