Incline searching for a few good friends
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 18 January 2011 22:10
- Written by Dena Rosenberry
By DAVE PHILIPPS, THE GAZETTE
The Manitou Incline has long had thousands of secret admirers. Now, it needs some real friends.
The steep, mile-long jumble of railroad ties that was once a tourist railway crosses private property and climbing it is illegal. Even so, an estimated 500,000 people per year climb it anyway.
For years, maintenance was completed by volunteers who use the trail. Now the Trails and Open Space Coalition is forming a Friends of the Incline group to raise money and maintain the trail.
“There are so many people who love the Incline and don’t want it to go away. They need to get involved now,” said organizer Bill Koerner.
Especially needed are volunteers with grant writing, marketing and fund raising experience, because rehabilitating the Incline is expected to cost $900,000 in the next five years.
The Friends group is part of a larger effort by landowners and the cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs to legally open the Incline and manage it as a recreational destination.
What is likely to happen next?:
• An agreement between landowners and managers to open the trail is expected by the end of the year.
• Safety repairs are expected to start by July.
• Regulations restricting parking on Ruxton Avenue and at the Barr Trailhead are expected by the end of the year.
• Regulations banning pets and nighttime use are expected when the trail opens.
Colorado Springs City Council member Scott Hente has said he would like to see the Incline open by summer, but Sarah Bryarly, interim director of planning, design and development for the city parks department, said Forest Service permits could take much longer.
Plenty of work awaits Friends of the Incline; an estimated 600 ties need to be replaced.
“That is why we really need people to step up and support the friends group,” said Bryarly.
Friends groups for Red Rock Canyon and Corral Bluffs have been instrumental in preserving and maintaining those open spaces.
Susan Davies, director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition, would like to see the friends launch an “adopt-a-tie” program for the Incline.
“We’re looking for all kinds of ideas like that, and people to get involved in developing them — people who love the Incline,” she said.
For more info and to volunteer for Friends of the Incline, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 633-6884.
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