The newest section of the City’s trail system, Centerra Trail, opened today, May 2 providing a safe, off-street transportation option to connect east Loveland neighborhoods to the City’s Recreation Trail System for the first time. The new 1.3-mile hard-surface trail connects the City’s Boyd Lake and Civic Center Trails to the Centerra Millennium trail system.
“The new Centerra Trail will allow trail users a safe, paved, off-road passage to east Loveland for the first time. Trails connect our community and provide an abundance of benefits, including health and wellness, transportation, and recreational opportunities,” said the City’s Open Lands & Trails Manager Marilyn Hilgenberg.
The trail runs adjacent to the private Greeley-Loveland Irrigation Co. (GLIC) maintenance road on the south side of Boyd Lake, starting at North Denver Avenue and connecting to the pedestrian underpass at North Boyd Lake Avenue.
Funding for the Centerra Trail project has come primarily from state and regional transportation grants totaling $1,225,000, helping to cover the cost of design and construction, along with a $25,000 contribution from High Plains Foundation towards construction costs. The balance of funding was provided by Lottery dollars from the Conservation Trust Fund and the city’s Trails Capital Expansion Fees.
Loveland’s Recreation Trail System consists of 32.3 miles of paved trails, including the 21-mile Recreation Trail Loop encircling the community and regional trails, including the Long View and Front Range trails linking to Fort Collins.
The Loveland community considers the City’s Recreation Trail to be a vital community asset, as demonstrated through results from both the Loveland 2022 Quality of Life citizen survey and the Parks and Recreation Department Master Plan. The Centerra Trail will be beneficial to connect the City of Loveland’s Recreation Trail System to outlying parts of the Loveland community.
The City’s paved and natural-surface recreation trails offer a multitude of options for walking, biking, and other non-motorized recreation. Trail resources include:
- The free Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) app and website (trails.colorado.gov) show the current status of all trails, with features to search by activity and find suggested routes. COTREX is a one-stop shop for trail information, from local trails to statewide, on one convenient platform.
- Pick up or download the Loveland Bikeways & Trails map, which includes trails and routes throughout the community as well as connections to regional trails. The map also includes bike routes, bike lanes, and “buffered” bicycle lanes throughout the city.
More information is available at: lovgov.org/trails, lovgov.org/openlands, and lovgov.org/bikeped.