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Rio Grande Trail layout underway

The Enchanted Circle Trails Association has been working under a grant to design the layout of one section of the Rio Grande Trail between the Gorge Bridge and John Dunn Bridge. From their newsletter:

ECTA is designing this new trail through a grant from the Department of Interior. The Rio Grande Trail is conceptualized as a long distance trail along the Rio Grande, running from Las Cruces to the Colorado border. This will be designated for non-motorized access, including hikers, runners, equestrians and bikers. The B2B 8+ miles is the last missing segment in our area!

ECTA has completed the initial route finding, although there are several areas that need refinement, as in “we scrambled over those boulders, but there’s gotta be an easier way through here.” As long as the weather holds, we’ll keep mapping.

Next step will be to contract for archaeologists and wildlife biologists to scour the route to make sure we’re not damaging any cultural resources or infringing on fragile habitat. We hope to turn over a complete package to the BLM by the end of next summer.