RMFI began the Strausenback Trail Reconstruction and Restoration Project in 2008 in an effort to address deteriorating sections on the trail and surrounding slopes.  The Strausenback Trail, located near the Garden of the Gods Trading Post and South Spring Canon Picnic Area, is one of the most heavily used in the park as it provides direct access to the park’s interior rock formations from the southwest and exceptional scenic views of the Pikes Peak summit as well as the amazing sandstone formations of the Garden.

Park personnel estimate that 40,000-50,000 persons each year use the area’s trails. In addition to foot use from tourists, hikers, and runners, Strausenback is a highly popular horseback-riding trail, seeing an estimated 10,000-12,000 riders per year.  Park policy allows private horse use as well as a permit for one commercial riding stable, Academy Riding Stables.

Prior to work, Strausenback was characterized by deep, incised gulleys in the bed of the trail and massive bare and denuded areas on the surrounding slopes.  RMFI began its current work on the heavily gullied north side last fall.  This project poses many challenges including the need to accommodate multiple users, incorporate appropriate drainage, stabilize and revegetate the surrounding slopes, and construct in-tread structures to bear heavy horse use.  Since September 2009, RMFI staff and volunteers have constructed 23 5-feet-wide rock risers in the bed of Strausenback and 382 square feet of slope-stabilizing retaining walls with 32 tons of rock and 12 tons of dirt and trail fill.  The project will be completed by November 2010.  RMFI sincerely thanks the City of Colorado Springs for providing material and technical support for this project.

RMFI began its work in the Garden of the Gods with the launch of its Garden of the Gods Community Stewardship Program in 2002.  This program stemmed from the findings of RMFI’s Garden of the Gods Restoration Report completed in 2000.  The report found that while there had been numerous improvements to the park’s infrastructure (roadways, walkways, and parking areas), the ecological integrity of the park remained at risk. The report documented an array of threats affecting the park’s health including severe soil erosion, damage to the park’s native plant communities, infestations of noxious plants, the deteriorating trail system, and lack of visitor awareness and education. One of the main recommendations of the report to address these threats was to establish a community-based stewardship program.  Since 2002, RMFI has worked with 7,673 volunteers for a total of 34,833 hours.