"What makes us really unique is, right there from the town center, you can look in any direction and see 12 miles of our hiking trails," Rocco Blasi told The Gazette this August. Blasi is president of Friends of Ute Pass Trails. The town says its full system runs about 20 miles of pedestrian trail, used year-round, with access to national forest, two waterfalls and three fishing reservoirs on the North Slope of Pikes Peak.
Those reservoirs sit on Colorado Springs Utilities land, inside the North Slope Recreation Area, which the City of Colorado Springs runs as part of Pikes Peak America's Mountain. The two longest climbs out of town, Catamount and Crystal, both run up to that boundary. In 2026 the boundary changed three times. On October 18 it changes again.
The reservoirs came back on May 1
In October 2023 the town put out a notice that Utilities would close the reservoirs at their land boundaries from October 15, 2023 through April 30, 2026. All Green Mountain Falls trails would stay open. For two and a half seasons, Catamount Trail took you past Catamount Falls and out to the meadow called the Garden of Eden, and then it stopped.
On April 24, 2026, the city announced that the North Slope would reopen May 1 with full access to North and South Catamount reservoirs after the dam rehabilitation work, and hiking was on the list of activities. That made this summer the first full season since 2023 that "the Gem of GMF trails," as the town marks Catamount, went all the way to the water again.
The town's hiking page still links the 2023 closure notice. That notice expired April 30, so it doesn't describe the trail as it is now.
Crystal lost its upper end on July 1
The second change ran the other way. Colorado Springs Utilities says the upper portion of the Crystal Trail on city property below Crystal Creek Reservoir "was permanently closed on July 1, 2026," to protect public safety and infrastructure. No-trespassing signs now stand on that stretch. The North Slope master plan, finalized this year, cites "severe erosion and hazardous conditions" along the steep trail near Utilities infrastructure.
Green Mountain Falls officials and Friends of Ute Pass Trails argued against the closure before the plan was final. Their case was that Crystal Trail existed before Utilities owned the land. "It's culturally significant, historically significant and then economically significant," Blasi said. "It's taking a valuable route out of the trail inventory at a time when the public is seeking more recreation options."
The town's trail table still describes Crystal as it used to be: 3.6 miles from the Welcome Center, about 1,700 feet of gain and more than 80 switchbacks, with no closure note. The lower trail is still the way to Kirkpatrick Trail and Crystal Falls. The climb to the reservoir is the part that's gone.
October 18 closes the other end of Catamount
The North Slope Recreation Area's 2026 season runs May 1 through October 18. From October 1 until the third Sunday in October, which the city calls Closing Day, hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Trails inside the recreation area are open only during posted hours. As of today, October 4, that leaves two weekends.
The Catamount Trail page on the Pikes Peak site lists the trail as needing the $5-per-person North Slope admission and as accessible May 1 through October 18. Admission is free for children under 16. The published materials are written for visitors who drive in through the Pikes Peak Highway gateway. They don't say how someone walking up from Hondo Avenue pays that fee. They also don't say anything specific about foot access after Closing Day. The recreation area asks visitors to call (719) 385-7325 for current information, and that's the right call to make before a long late-season day toward the reservoirs.
The route toward the water has its own layers. Catamount leaves the hills at the Garden of Eden meadow and soon meets a service road through Pike National Forest that leads to South Catamount Reservoir. The plan lists that stretch of road among trail segments that need improvements or formal authorization to remain.
The loop that stays inside town
Once the North Slope closes, the routes that stay open run along the slopes above Gazebo Lake. The most useful of them links both waterfalls without touching Utilities land. The Gazette walked it this September:
- Park near the trail map by Gazebo Lake, walk east and follow the trail sign at Hotel Street up to Park Avenue.
- Keep climbing through the neighborhood to the trailhead at the top of Mountain Avenue, where lower Crystal Trail begins.
- At the T, turn right onto Kirkpatrick Trail to Crystal Falls, then step carefully across the rocks below the pool to pick up Thomas Trail.
- Follow the yellow markers along the mountainside to Catamount Creek Falls and cross the creek where the marker points.
- Drop down to the utilities station at the Catamount trailhead, take the footbridge into the neighborhood and walk Hondo Avenue back to town.
The Thomas segment is 1.2 miles one way with 356 feet of gain, not counting the steep neighborhood streets. Volunteers finished it in 1990 on land Dr. C.Y. Thomas donated to the town. It was one of the first projects for the trail crew led by Dick Bratton, the former mayor.
The rest of the in-town system, as the town's trail table lists it:
| Route | Distance and gain, per the town | Town's notes |
|---|---|---|
| Catamount to Catamount Falls | 2 miles from the Welcome Center | Garden of Eden at 4 miles |
| Dewey/Bratton/Catamount Loop | 4.2 miles, 1,450 ft | Very little shade |
| Pittman/Turrell Trails | 1.25 miles, 300 ft | Starts at Joyland parking lot, view of town, Turrell art |
| Wallace Reserve | 2.0 miles | Park at Ute Pass Ave and Mountain Rd, looping connections |
| Kirkpatrick | 1.6 miles one way, 240 ft | Connects to Wallace trails |
| Conn | 0.2 miles, flat | Creek walk, art walk, shopping, food |
The Pittman Trail sits on Red Butte, where the trail network has grown around the James Turrell Skyspace installed by the Green Box Arts Festival. The Bratton Trail, finished in 2017, closed the loop between Mount Dewey and Catamount. Every trail is hiking-only. Bikes are allowed only on the American Discovery Trail. Blasi explains the hiking-only designation simply: "Less erosion, less maintenance, more sustainable." The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics also named Green Mountain Falls a Gold Standard Site last year.
Parking, and where to sit down after
Many trailheads are at the ends of neighborhood streets where parking isn't allowed. The town has marked four hiker parking areas.
- Area A: north side of Ute Pass Avenue from Oak Street to the bridge, the south side of Olathe at Ute Pass Avenue, and the Pool Park.
- Area B: southwest side of Ute Pass Avenue between Lake Street and Foster Avenue, Hotel Street between Ute Pass and El Paso avenues, and the northeast side of El Paso Avenue just east of Hotel Street.
- Area C: Ute Pass Avenue at Mountain Road.
- Area D: Ute Pass Avenue at Joyland Church.
Public bathrooms are at Gazebo Park and Pool Park. Cell and Wi-Fi coverage in town is limited, so download the town's PDF map or the Avenza app before you go.
The trail map in the center of town stands in the parking lot outside The Pantry. For years Dick Bratton gathered his trail crews there after work days and recruited new volunteers at the table. Blasi was one of them almost 20 years ago. This year town has a second place to stop. Columbine Pour House opened inside Green Mountain Falls Lodge at 10755 Ute Pass Avenue, serving sandwiches, soups, shareable boards and a children's menu, with both cocktails and alcohol-free drinks. At its late-August opening, hours were Friday and Saturday noon to 8 p.m. and Sunday noon to 7 p.m. Call (719) 210-8463 to confirm the fall schedule.
What could move the boundary next
Utilities calls its North Slope Watershed Access and Recreation Plan final and says it will be carried out as resources and time allow. The plan's concepts include a connection between Mount Esther, Crystal Creek and Catamount; moving parts of Catamount off service roads; and rerouting a section near the road. None of these has a construction date. The town's parks and trails committee put a Utilities presentation on Catamount Trail and a proposed Catamount Trail team on its August 12 agenda. On August 26 it listed Friends of Ute Pass Trails nominations for that team. Blasi has said Friends of Ute Pass Trails is more than willing to take on maintenance.
Until any of that is built, after October 18 the trails you can count on are Thomas, Dewey, Bratton, Red Butte and the lower stretch of Catamount to the falls. Yule Days is set for December 5 and 6 and ends with the tree lighting in Gazebo Park at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday.
In Green Mountain Falls, it matters which trailhead sits at the end of your street, whether hikers can park there and which trails run through land the town doesn't control. If you're thinking about selling a home near the Catamount, Crystal or Red Butte trailheads, High Country Realty can show you how that access affects what buyers will pay for it. Get Your Home Valuation.
