Construction of a 4.2 mile non motorized recreational trail, called Morning Gloria, began on Monday, June 9 on Emerald Mountain.

After an extensive and competitive proposal process, the City of Steamboat Springs Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services Department granted Routt Country Riders (RCR) the contract to build the Morning Gloria trail. RCR, a Steamboat based non profit focused on the maintenance and construction of Routt County trails, will receive help from Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and the Steamboat Springs Conservation Youth Corp to complete the construction process.

With a new $100,000 ST 240 single track trail building machine, RCR hopes the project will be completed by the end of August, as long as weather permits. The new machine, whose purchase was made possible through generous funds from Moots, Yampa Valley Bank and various other donors, will allow for a more efficient and thorough trail building process. The ST 240 will take care of the heavy lifting and clearing necessary in the early steps of construction and can even be operated through remote control. Morning Gloria is the first trail, of hopefully many, that this new, exciting machine will help build.

The Morning Gloria Trail is named after the late Gloria Gossard, a famed Steamboat Springs philanthropist who donated 120 acres to protect Emerald Mountain. The trail will start at the top of Quarry Mountain Trail and eventually connect to Lupine Trail.  The trail is planned to have an average grade of 5-8% and a width of no less than 36 inches. 

To help with the construction of Morning Gloria, volunteers can meet at Blackmere Drive at 8:45am on Sunday, July 20, Saturday, August 2, and Saturday, August 16. RCR encourages volunteers to bring their bikes so they can ride down at the end of the day.

To learn more about the Morning Gloria Trail or mountain biking in Steamboat Springs and the surrounding area in general visit www.routtcountryriders.org