Pika Trail

Thanks to generous support from the South Park National Heritage Area (SPNHA), Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) and The Summit Foundation, MALT designed and built a 1 ½ mile scenic and educational loop trail at the Pennsylvania Mountain Natural Area for public hiking and snowshoeing access.

Volunteers logged more than 1,279 hours to build the Pika Trail, working on diverse and rugged geographic terrain at an elevation of 11,500 feet. MALT continues to make improvements on the trail, including construction of a driveway and parking area, safety and directional signage and informational kiosk.

Hike the Pika Trail located at 858 Prunes Place, Fairplay, CO 80440. The Pika Trail is for Hiking Only. No motorized vehicles, hunting or camping is allowed. It is private property owned and managed by the Mountain Area Land Trust.

2016: Continuing Work on the Pika Trail
August 20th – 21st, 2016

MALT continued to add to the Pika Trail at Pennsylvania Mountain Natural Area near Fairplay, CO with a trail building weekend on August 20-21, 2016. For this family stewardship experience, MALT along with an outstanding team of nearly 100 people from Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) finished building the “Pika Trail” on the Pennsylvania Mountain Natural Area. An additional 3/4 mile to the trail was added to the 2015 trail. A staggering 1,279 volunteer hours were logged on this job, and we are extremely grateful to our partners at VOC, Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center and South Park National Heritage Area for their help and support on this amazing project. Building a trail in less than ideal weather conditions, on rocky and difficult terrain was no easy feat, and we are proud to have accomplished our goal this summer

A very grateful thank you to all the trail building volunteers, the staff and crew leaders from Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center and BPEEC Executive Director Kevin Hosman, Bob and Jill White at Bristlecone View Ranch.

2015: Building the Pika Trail
August 29th – 30th, 2015

MALT partnered with the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) and other organizations to design and build a trail at the Pennsylvania Mountain Natural Area near Fairplay, CO. Over a two-day weekend, August 29th and 30th, 2015, volunteers worked on constructing a loop trail on MALT’s property. It is the first scenic and educational outdoor trail MALT has initiated on its 92 acre parcel for public hiking and snowshoeing access. During the two day project, there were 75 trail building volunteers each day working within diverse geographic habitats around tree line at 11,500 feet.

A number of families were able to join this project while their young ones enjoyed a full day of activities at the nearby Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center (BPEEC). On the way to the trail project , the under 12 year olds were dropped off at Beaver Ponds where they learned about agriculture sustainability, alternative energy and ecology. They were also able to spend time hanging out with the Beaver Ponds alpacas and llamas!

The weekend campsite location was an incredible donation by Bob and Jill White on their beautiful Bristlecone View Ranch surrounded by aspen trees with the scenic Mosquito Range mountain views in the background. Bob and Jill have held two Conservation Easements on their property with MALT since 2011.

A very grateful thank you to all the trail building volunteers, the staff and crew leaders from Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center and BPEEC Executive Director Kevin Hosman, Bob and Jill White at Bristlecone View Ranch and MALT Seasonal Intern Roland Kiessling who made this project possible. Thank you!