The Boulder County commissioners signed off Thursday on purchasing a small property for open space for $1.5 million, creating an opportunity to build a safer trail connection from Boulder Canyon to Betasso Preserve.
The 6.62-acre property at 38899 Boulder Canyon Drive is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Boulder Canyon Drive and Fourmile Canyon Drive. It’s owned by Michael Sandrock, a regular columnist for Prairie Mountain Media, and has been used as a residence. The four buildings on the property are two residences, a detached garage and a detached studio.
The property also covers a portion of the historic Orodell Townsite, known for its water powered saw mill and as a major junction for travel, and is designated as a Boulder County Historic Landmark. It’s bordered on the west side by Betasso open space and is considered a high biodiversity area and riparian area.
The property has been on the county’s priority acquisition list for “decades,” Open Space Land Officer Supervisor Tina Burghardt said.
Once the purchase is complete, county open space staff members said, the property will be closed to the public for a management review to determine specific future open space uses and what to do with the structures.
“There are a lot of things to figure out,” Burghardt said.
The deal was applauded by the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance, which has advocated for years for a safer route to access Betasso from Boulder. Alliance Executive Director Wendy Sweet said it’s been challenging to develop a bike trail connection without going through the privately owned property. The other options involve very steep hills and cliffs that would require blasting or building a staircase that would require cyclists to carry their bikes up and down, she said.
“It’s just really great news for our community,” she said. “This has been on our radar for many years.”
Along with urging the county to move quickly on a bike trail connection, she said, her group would like to see a new loop for mountain bikers as part of the connection. Betasso, as the closest mountain bike trail to downtown Boulder, is so popular that it’s closed to cyclists two days of the week.
“It would mean a lot to the community to have a lunch ride or an after-school ride here,” she said.