The final miles: Eagle Valley Trail's last segment takes shape
After decades of planning, the 63-mile trail from Vail Pass to Glenwood Canyon is closing its last gap. Phase 1 of the final segment broke ground last summer.
The Eagle Valley Trail, the paved path meant to run 63 miles from the top of Vail Pass to Glenwood Canyon, is in the home stretch. Eagle County broke ground July 1, 2025, on Phase 1 of the trail's final segment, the most complex and expensive section of a project decades in the making.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place at 4 p.m. at the Mott's Landing parking area, at the east end of the Horn Ranch Open Space, where county commissioners marked the start of construction on the first 1.7 miles of the last gap, running from Horn Ranch to the Colorado Department of Transportation maintenance yard.
This isn't just about finishing a trail, it's about connecting the people and places that make Eagle County special. We're building something that will benefit our community for generations.
Jeanne McQueeney, Eagle County Commissioner, in the county's groundbreaking announcement
An expensive mile
Phase 1 carries an estimated cost of about $13 million, and the engineering explains why. The corridor squeezes between the Eagle River and U.S. Highway 6, requiring large retaining walls along a narrow strip of land. Johnson Construction is the general contractor. The county's announcement anticipated completion by July 31, 2026.
Funding for the phase includes $5 million in federal grant support, alongside $22 million in Certificates of Participation issued by the county, plus contributions from Eagle County municipalities and metro districts, Great Outdoors Colorado, CDOT, private and family foundations, local businesses, and individual donors. In July 2025, Core Transit added a $3 million donation toward the trail's completion.
Where the project stands
The Eagle Valley Trail organization now reports 58 of 63 miles complete, with the remaining miles concentrated in the Horn Ranch to Edwards corridor. When finished, the trail will link communities from Vail Pass to Glenwood Canyon, with a spur to Minturn, in one continuous non-motorized route, and connect onward to trail systems in Summit, Garfield, and Pitkin counties.
This is a huge milestone. We've been working towards this for years, and now we're finally breaking ground on the last stretch of the Eagle Valley Trail.
Kevin Sharkey, Eagle County project manager, Eagle Valley Trail
The county's longer plan sequences the remaining work in phases through 2027: about 0.7 miles from the CDOT yard to Wolcott at an estimated $11.1 million, then 2.7 miles from Wolcott to the BLM fishing access at an estimated $11.6 million, with the last 3.8 miles still to be designed around constraints including the Eagle River, the highway, and the railroad.
The payoff the organizers describe is bigger than one county. When the final gap closes, riders will be able to travel an uninterrupted 142-mile route from Breckenridge to Aspen without riding on a highway, and Core Transit notes that many of its bus stops sit near or directly on the trail, so riders can combine a bike and a bus for the same trip. For now, the trail's own site invites donations to finish the job, and trail users can watch the final gap close mile by mile.
