The Town of Hot Sulphur Springs conducted a ribbon cutting on July 30 to celebrate a new trail in Himebaugh Gulch. The trail connects two other trails, creating a 3.4-mile loop opportunity for trail users.

This trail is the culmination over several years of a number of projects, including the acquisition of the 275-acre property, trail development and construction of a trailhead. You can access Himebaugh Gulch from the trailhead located on County Road 55 just east of town.

Before the ribbon cutting, Hot Sulphur Springs Mayor Ray Tinkum welcomed and thanked the gathering of partners and stakeholders that contributed to achieving this significant amenity for the town and county.

Town trustee Dan Nolan explained that the 2015 Parks, Open Space and Recreation Master Plan, prepared with a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, identified the town’s desire to acquire the property, to protect its natural and scenic values and have a trail connection to the adjacent national forest.

Fortunately, several years later, landowners Max and Kathryn Webel had similar wishes. They protected the land from development with a conservation easement held by Colorado Headwaters Land Trust, which has now combined with Colorado Open Lands.

They wanted the property to belong to the town. Thanks to grants from Great Outdoors Colorado, Grand County’s Open Lands Rivers and Trails Fund, Gates Family Foundation and the town’s Conservation Trust fund, Hot Sulphur Springs was able to purchase the property in 2021.

Since then, while an existing old road forms the basis for the trail system, a one-mile reroute was needed and constructed around a steep, unsustainable section funded by an Open Lands, Rivers an Trails grant. The county provided land for a trailhead that was constructed by Harms and Sons Excavation, and M3 Property Services installed information kiosks.

Funding for the trailhead was provided by a Great Outdoors Colorado grant through Headwaters Trails Alliance. Finally, the loop connector trail was funded by an OLRT grant and constructed by locals Skinny Traffic Trails with help from town staff.

Himebaugh Gulch is open to the public for nonmotorized recreation such as hiking, biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, bird watching, photography and just enjoying nature. It is the site of the Snow King Valley Ski Area which operated sporadically between 1947 and 1952.

The gulch is named for John Himebaugh, who lived there from 1874 to 1877. He was a stone mason who built the first bridge piers across the Colorado River and, as a justice of the peace, performed the first marriage ceremony in Grand County.