Temporary closure at Lions Open Space starts Feb. 22

Work to stabilize the Poudre River bank will close the parking area at Lions Open Space in LaPorte starting Feb. 22.

Lions Open Space is home to the westernmost portion of the Poudre River Trail, which continues west as the Pleasant Valley Trail. The Pleasant Valley Trail will remain open during construction but will be rerouted away from the Cache la Poudre River. Visitors may access Lions Open Space via the trail during construction.

The Lions Open Space parking area is expected to reopen April 22. The reroute of the Pleasant Valley Trail will remain in effect until the fall of this year.

The temporary closure to the parking area is the result of improvements coming to Lions Open Space, including stabilizing the bank of the Poudre River and repairing about a 20-foot section of the Pleasant Valley Trail that was damaged during previous flood events. This work will be done in two phases.

During the first phase of construction, which starts Feb. 22, crews will install boulders and other rocks along the shoreline to stabilize the riverbank. Also, in the Poudre River itself, they will install rock clusters to improve fish habitat and lines of rock to slow the river’s velocity and reduce the potential for erosion of the riverbank.

The second phase of construction is scheduled to take place in late summer or early fall, after spring runoff when the water level of the Poudre River subsides. It will include re-vegetation and soil work on the restored riverbank, as well as repairs to the damaged section of the Pleasant Valley Trail.

Updates on construction and reopening of the Lions Open Space parking area will be posted on Larimer County Department of Natural Resources’ website, larimer.org/naturalresources. For questions or more information, please contact Jeffrey Boring, resource specialist, at 970-619-4569 or [email protected].