Completed Hippo Trail Reroute

The Forest Service in partnership with a number of volunteer organizations have completed a new Hippo trail in the Soda Creek Area. The old trail will be closed and restored this September with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers.

A new trail has been created for a number of different reasons: The old trail had become eroded in various locations and was unsustainable due to how steep the grade was. The tread had become cupped in large sections of the trail which leads to unnecessary erosion and trail braiding. In efforts to reduce resource damage and to have a more sustainable trail for years to come, a new Hippo trail has been constructed. The new trail has a more sustainable design following natural contours and is at a more reasonable grade. Most importantly, this design will require less maintenance in the future.

The Hippo realignment has been a two-year project involving two miles of hand dug tread and three structures crossing wetlands.  We would love to thank all the volunteers and USFS for all the hard work over the past two summers! FDRD, along with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, and the Summit Mountain Bikers have all spent large amounts of hours on this project. The new Hippo trail has gotten lots of positive reviews from the trail community as it hikes and rides great in both directions.