Colorado’s first state park has its first mountain bike-optimized trails.

A flowy, buffed-out network roaming about 4 ½ miles is making its summer debut at Lathrop State Park, near Walsenburg. Also open to hikers, the trails more than double the dirt options at the park, which is overlooked by the Spanish Peaks and defined by two lakes encircled by a concrete bike path.

Now, on the north side of Horseshoe Lake, people on foot or bike can spring off for Roadrunner Trail. It connects to Great Blue Heron Trail, which runs up and over Lathrop’s landmark hogback to a longer loop exploring pinon-and-juniper woods previously unknown.

Lathrop State Park Manager Stacey Koury called it “one of the most beautiful areas of the park” — away from roads, campgrounds and boating on the lakes.

In seeking ideas for what to do with those previously-undeveloped 160 acres, “constituents and partners of Huerfano County almost all unanimously said that the county needed more mountain bike trails and hiking trails,” Koury said.

She expected the trails to be marked by the end of this month. In the meantime, she recommended riders stop in for a map at the visitor center or view routes on the COTREX app.

Lathrop is one of Colorado’s lesser-visited state parks, with close to 121,000 visitors reported last year. Those familiar have known the water sports and the rocky, hiking-only Hogback Trail, leading to a view of the Spanish Peaks made famous by pioneer photographer William Henry Jackson.

Now mountain bikers are getting to take in the scenery worthy of the first state park, designated in 1962. Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are also allowed on the new trails.

“It’s the original state park in Colorado,” said Joe Kozlowicz, a regional cycling advocate based in Trinidad. “To see (Colorado Parks and Wildlife) lean into something that’s bike-optimized, that’s awesome.”

Kozlowicz described the trails as “really fun” and beginner-friendly, with some rock features and optional lines for jumps and drops. He called the flavor similar to his home state park, Fishers Peak, “but definitely easier, way less climbing.”

Since trail construction reached the top of Fishers Peak last year, riders have enjoyed a long, smile-inducing descent spanning about 2,500 feet. Lathrop’s much flatter trails are more approachable, Kozlowicz noted.

They represent yet another option in the region, he was proud to say.

“It just helps build all the momentum we have going around here,” he said. “The more trails we have popping up on the map, the more mountain bikers are going to swing through southern Colorado and check things out and bring more business.”

Kozlowicz foresaw that momentum from afar in Denver; he moved to Trinidad to open a bike shop almost two years ago. He has since been involved with the town’s tourism board and Trinidad Trails Alliance, the nonprofit that has helped expand possibilities.

While expansions are on the horizon for Fishers Peak — a longterm master plan envisions 80 miles of trail across Colorado’s second-largest state park — and nearby Wormhole trail system, Kozlowicz has been encouraged by happenings to the north.

The grassroots ski area at Cuchara Mountain Park sees lift-served mountain biking as key to an economically sustainable future. Kozlowicz thinks that could bring more outside attention to the area’s Spring Creek, Indian Creek and Baker Creek trails, part of a U.S. Forest Service system that Kozlowicz calls “super fun and super under-used.”

At Lathrop, Koury heard about those more distant, backcountry-type trails from local riders. “We hope to be a fun, additional experience,” the park manager said.

A more accessible experience, and “something that helps get people into the sport as well,” Kozlowicz said. “It’s not all about visitors. It’s also providing more quality of life for the people who live here.”