Trails are expanding as part of a mission to make a mountain biking destination in southwest Colorado.

A short ride up from Silverton’s main street, the first trail of the Baker’s Park system ー a 7-mile loop opened in 2024 ー has been frequented by local and visiting hikers and runners as well. But from the 2014 beginnings of Silverton Singletrack Society, nonprofit leaders have indeed seen “world-class” biking potential on the mountain overlooking town, to be the site of “the first purpose-built, non-motorized trail network in San Juan County.”

A recent news release further described the planned 30-mile network as “the most significant investment in public outdoor recreation infrastructure in San Juan County’s history.” Various organizations are also investing: $1.1 million is expected to add about 10 miles of trail, with construction starting this summer.

International Mountain Bicycling Association Trail Solutions will lead the project, which is being anchored by a $750,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado. Other funds are from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Foundation for America’s Public Lands, which supports Baker’s Park-owning Bureau of Land Management. 

Said that foundation’s CEO, I Ling Thompson, in a statement: “By expanding access to the outdoors right at Silverton’s doorstep, this trail system will strengthen community health, support local businesses and welcome visitors from near and far to experience Colorado’s extraordinary places.” 

The San Juan Mountains surrounding Silverton have popularly been toured via “unmaintained mining roads and historic pack mule trails which are steep, highly technical and prone to washouts,” explains Silverton Singletrack Society’s GoFundMe page for Baker’s Park. 

The local options have been “either just super gnarly, where you have to carry your bike uphill, expert-only kind of stuff, or you can just ride around on the roads,” the group’s board chair, Klemens Branner, said in a previous interview. “If you’re intermediate, there isn’t really much. That was the point (of Baker’s Park) — to fill that middle gap, but also have more purpose-built advanced stuff and purpose-built beginner stuff that isn’t a road. So something for everyone.”

The next 9.8 miles of trail due for construction are expected to be 53% intermediate, 29% beginner, 18% advanced and designed for people on foot as well. About 6 miles of bike-only trail will eventually join the system, according to Silverton Singletrack Society’s description of stacked loops with “stunning vistas, manageable climbs and thrilling descents.” 

The current 7-mile loop is considered “beginner to intermediate.” Silverton Singletrack Society’s recent news release indicated about 3,900 people took to the trail in its first season. 

“Seeing people of all ages out enjoying the trail — locals walking their dogs, kids learning to ride, visitors discovering Silverton in a new way — has been incredibly rewarding,” Branner said. “It confirms what our community believed from the beginning: that Baker’s Park could become a place where people connect with the outdoors and with each other.”