Temporary closure at Lions Open Space starts Oct. 17

Construction will take place at Lions Open Space starting Oct. 17, resulting in a temporary closure of the parking area at the open space in LaPorte.

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 has been rerouted away from the Cache la Poudre River. Visitors may access Lions Open Space via the trail during construction. Fishing will also remain open when no equipment is in the river.

The Lions Open Space parking area is expected to reopen Nov. 25.

The temporary closure to the parking area is the result of improvements happening at Lions Open Space, which include 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 is being done in two phases.

During the first phase of construction, which was completed earlier this year, crews installed boulders and other rocks along the shoreline to stabilize the riverbank. Also, in the river itself, they installed 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.

During the second phase, which starts Oct. 17, crews will finalize the lines of rock in the Poudre River and along the east riverbank; complete revegetation work, such as reseeding and planting shrubs and trees, along the eastern side of the river; and repair 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, www.larimer.org/naturalresources.