Trails for Everyone Workshop Series - Session 1: Trails & Accessibility

Please join us Friday June 27th at 9 AM at the Hilton Garden Inn for Session 1 of our free Trails for Everyone Workshop Series!

Believe it or not, we all know someone with a disability - whether it is a physical disability that requires the use of a wheelchair or other assistance for mobility, a speech disability from a stroke, hearing or vision disabilities, learning or neurological disabilities, or other significant sensory or mental health disabilities that are not obviously apparent in your friends, neighbors, and family members. Or maybe you yourself have a temporary disability due to injury or illness.

We also ALL love to get outside - whether it is to jump on your bike and pound out an adrenaline-filled ride on your local bike trail, use a trail to access your favorite fishing hole, or just sit on a bench in the sun on a gorgeous day!

In the past, non-motorized outdoor recreation trails and associated amenities on public lands were often designed by and developed more for single-track adrenaline junkies and hard core hikers without disabilities. But new ways of thinking have been evolving, with the realization that 28% of our current population have some type of disability (but would still like to play outdoors!).

While we 100% support the ongoing development of adrenaline-packed steep and deep trails and other outdoor recreation opportunities for people without disabilities, we are also excited to support the development of more 'Trails for Everyone', where with a little tweaking certain trails can serve a much broader group of our community members. Just one example of this is that by making a trail wider with a flat or gentle slope, this not only allows two wheelchairs to be able to pass each other and navigate more easily, but also makes room for multi-aged family members to go for a walk together where young parents pushing strollers can walk alongside an older family member using a walker.

Please join Purgatoire Watershed Partnership and Trinidad Trails Alliance for this joint free exciting workshop being taught by experts from around the state to share their knowledge and experiences with us! Plus share your stories, ask questions, and eat free lunch!

And if you can't make it for the whole day, just join us for the morning or afternoon session. The morning session will be held indoors at the Hilton Garden Inn from 9 AM to 12 PM, then we'll eat lunch, then head out for our afternoon session from 1 PM - 3 PM at Fishers Peak State Park trailhead.

Contact Julie Knudson jknudson@purgatoirepartners.org or 970-420-1915 for more information!

A huge shout out to our many partners and sponsors and supporters making this event possible including Trinidad Trails Alliance, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Fishers Peak State Park, ABC Disability, City of Fort Collins, Topher Downham (author of Boulder Accessible Trails Guide Booklet), Kelsey Devereaux of Every Body Outside Consulting, Fishers Peak Outfitters, Purgatoire River Anglers/Local Trout Unlimited Chapter, Colorado Trout Unlimited, US Army Corps of Engineers, Kip Hampden LLC, Las Animas County, City of Trinidad, Mile High Youth Corps, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Turner Community Youth Development Initiative, National Recreation Foundation, and more!

Illustration on left in Header Image by Daniele Simonelli from the Article: Trails for All.

https://www.nature.org/en-us/magazine/magazine-articles/making-nature-accessible-for-all/