The City of Boulder has reopened the Royal Arch Trail after completing significant maintenance and re-construction work along the popular open space trail. The city invites community members to learn more about the trail and other open space areas through the city’s interactive trail and trailhead website search feature.
Since April, Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) has conducted extensive reconstruction along 1,000 feet of the trail to re-align it away from more sensitive wildlife and plant habitats. City trail staff rebuilt many stone staircases, installed a new bridge and widened some sections of the path because erosion and sustained visitor use caused those areas to erode and narrow significantly. While OSMP has completed significant repairs along the Royal Arch Trail, it is planning to conduct additional maintenance along the trail in 2022, which will require trail closures.
The Royal Arch Trail is one of OSMP’s popular “legacy trails,” which are located in steep locations and sustain erosion damage from rainfall and snowmelt, requiring ongoing maintenance to provide unique outdoor experiences for open space visitors. Maintaining those popular trails and addressing ongoing trail repairs and maintenance needs across the city’s 155-mile trail system is one of OSMP’s top long-term, Master Plan-directed priorities.
