From the City of Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services is pleased to announce that the Manitou Incline Trail is now open, ahead of schedule and in time to work off those Thanksgiving Day meals. An official reopening celebration will take place on Friday, December 1 at 8 a.m. at the base of the Manitou Incline.  The Manitou Incline had been closed for the past three months for Phase 3 of repairs beginning at the false summit and continuing all the way to the top of the Incline.

(Photo by Shannon Fair)

The Incline project had four major goals: improve safety, enhance the user experience, improve the trail’s long-term sustainability and increase accessibility.  Work included removing and replacing damaged retaining walls, cleaning up the exposed rebar and loose debris, anchoring the existing ties, stabilizing the surrounding slopes, and replacing failed drainage structures and adding more drainage structures. The new drainage structures will greatly help to reduce the velocity of runoff water, which is a critical factor in reducing erosion and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Incline. 

The project was completed at a final cost of approximately $2 million. Funding was made possible by a $2 million Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program. The City of Colorado Springs is responsible for the general oversight, trail enhancements, general maintenance of the Incline and to apply for grants to fund improvements, per the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Manitou Springs. For more information on the construction project, www.coloradosprings.gov/incline