GOLDEN, Colo. — As the population booms, open space trails in the Denver metro area are dealing with more traffic, leading to erosion.
Erosion can be a pain for trail users. To help find a solution to the problem, JeffCo Open Space is testing out stay-on-trail strategies.
Volunteers are working on 2,500-feet of trail in North Table Mountain Park in Jefferson County.
"I've always been building things one. 40 years of design work, now I actually get to construct," said volunteer Paul Wood.
JeffCo Open Space calls it the Mud Lab. County workers and volunteers are making a new trail because mud would constantly pile up.
"Folks are simply just trying to get down the trail, understanding the impacts of the mud, so they revert it and either go above or below it," said Matt Robbins with JeffCo Open Space.
The team will be working on the trail until March. Robbins said they're elevating it and enhancing better drainage by the muddy section.
"If you're introduced to some mud or other things, now you have slip hazards and other dangers that happen. So, this nice structure and other portions of our trail was well designed," said Robbins.
Once those stay-on-trail strategies are in place, JeffCo Open Space will observe to see if it works during the spring.
