Where You'll Be:
Castlewood Canyon State Park, located southeast of the Denver Metro area, is known for its dramatic canyon landscape, layered rock formations, and connections to Colorado history. Trails crisscross the canyon’s rim and floor, offering hiking opportunities with views of the canyon, nearby mountains, and the rolling hills of Parker and Franktown. Volunteers will work along the Creek Bottom Trail, a two-mile trail that follows Cherry Creek from the north end of the canyon to the historic ruins of Castlewood Dam.
What You'll Do:
This trail provides access to Cherry Creek Falls, one of the park’s most visited destinations. In 2023, a major flood event caused significant erosion through the canyon. Portions of the trail were washed away, including a cliffside section that is no longer safe for public use.
To address this, the park is building a new reroute of approximately one-quarter mile to restore safe access through the area. Volunteers will help construct 700 to 800 feet of the new trail reroute. Work will include new trail construction and substantial rock work, with a focus on building rock steps.
This project offers a chance to practice trail construction skills while contributing to a high-priority repair in a heavily used state park.
Why It Matters:
This reroute will vastly improve visitor safety and experience by ensuring a long-term safe and sustainable route along the Creek Bottom Trail. This reroute will also move the trail away from an area prone to erosion. This project is a good opportunity to have a variety of trail construction skill levels and help build a high-priority reroute in a highly visited park.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Ages 14+
Youth under 16 must be accompanied by an adult aged 21 or older.
Project Difficulty:
This project is considered moderate to difficult; please check our difficulty rating criteria here for more details.
General physical considerations for participating on this project (Some or all may apply): moderate lifting and tool use; digging, shoveling, moving soil and rocks; repetitive bending, lifting, and walking; may require hiking to access work site while carrying tools; you can expect to bend over, pick objects up, move rocks, carry tools, swing heavy tools, dig, and stretch.
Access Factors:
Vehicle Access: 2WD accessible.
Other Notes: Volunteers will hike about a quarter of a mile from the parking lot to the project's site. Restrooms are available in the parking lot.
Join us in reducing our carbon footprint by carpooling! Click here to sign up for the carpool (please do this after registering for the project).
If you enjoy trail construction projects, you can view similar projects here.
