New trail in Boulder a break in 'country's longest-standing bike ban'

Cyclists in Boulder are celebrating a trail eight years in the making — a trail symbolizing a much longer wait.

The city recently announced opening North Sky Trail. The singletrack roams 3 1/2 miles off U.S. 36 north of town, flowing through rolling terrain eyed in the late 1800s for a railroad connecting up to Left Hand Canyon and mining camps.

Now people on foot, bike and horse can chart a course from North Sky Trail to that canyon and other county-owned trails. A city news release called North Sky "an important connection beyond Boulder, linking the city's Foothills North Trail in north Boulder to the Joder Ranch Trail."

Said Boulder Mountainbike Alliance Executive Director Wendy Sweet: "It's a small piece of trail that opens up a lot of possibilities."

A small piece of trail representing something much more.

Sweet looks to Joder Ranch as the last place the city's Open Space and Mountain Parks department built a trail for cyclists, in 2015. Before then, Sweet goes back to 2008.

Local mountain bikers have relied on Boulder County-owned trails and terrain beyond. In terms of the city-managed network, North Sky Trail recalls a history of what Boulder Mountainbike Alliance knows as "the country's longest-standing bike ban."

It's a history going back to the 1980s, when a growing number of "klunkers" were taking to the Flatirons. That ended with a city ban in 1983, followed by an expanded order in 1987.

Sweet has been in Boulder since 1993, around the time mountain bikers were organizing "to regain that access," she said. "That access we lost back in the '80s, we've actually not gotten back access to those trails. The trails we do have access to are new since then."

Enter North Sky Trail, which was approved at a 2016 City Council meeting — but not without contention. In another moment underscoring certain political and social tensions, opponents pointed to sensitive habitat and the city's historic promise to protect the environment against bikes.

"We advocated that we could responsibly build a trail," Sweet said.

It's complete thanks in part to a reported 170 volunteers who put in 535 hours of labor.

Sweet described North Sky Trail as something of a test to gain local trust and build a multi-use ethic.

"Even before the trail opened, (people asked), 'Can bikes be restricted a couple days a week?'" Sweet said. "It's like, wait a second, we haven't even opened the trail, we haven't identified any issues yet."

She expected volunteers to be posted at the trailhead in the days ahead, "just out there spreading goodwill," she said.