Outdoor accessibility at Cheyenne Mountain State Park
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Exploring the trails at Cheyenne Mountain State Park offers the chance to spot wildlife, bike through the wilderness, or run miles on end. The park is welcoming a new addition to the trails: two TerrainHopper’s to help those with limited mobility experience all mother nature has to offer in southern Colorado.
“We were inspired by Staunton State Park and their truck program and also Bear Creek Regional Park, they have another TerrainHopper program,” said Cheyenne Mountain State Park Administrator, Melissa Neal. “We were able to go to a training with them and we’re really impressed by the devices, so we decided to get some of our own.”
The TerrainHopper will help serve those with mobility disabilities, enabling them to navigate the trails with ease through this specially designed mobility vehicle. Other parks across southern Colorado offer access to devices like this to provide a one-of-a-kind experience to those who might not physically be able to navigate the trails.
“I think it’s very exciting to be able to get people who have not been able to have these experiences out, even if they want to do it over and over again,” Neal said. “I’m also excited that we are creating a network with other parks in the state, in the area so that people can experience it at different places.”
Thanks to the generous support of the community, the park was able to get not one, but two TerrainHopper’s.
“They were funded by a combination of grants and donations,” Neal said. “So, we’ve got some grants and donations from the Mesara Foundation, Partners in the Outdoors Grant from Hoppers for Heroes, which is a TerrainHopper-specific organization, and then also from the Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park, and then, of course, the biggest donation from the Kern family.
The park offers multiple trails and scenic views showcasing different angles of Colorado Springs, drawing in numerous visitors during the summer months. With this new addition, the aim is to ensure that individuals who were previously unable to take part in these adventures can now experience them fully.
“I think there’s a lot of people that have not been able to enjoy it,” Treasurer of Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Lori Hawkins said. “You can only see so much from the roads or from the camping spaces, but to get out and actually enjoy it, see the beauty, the quietness, except for the road, I think to open that up to so many people who haven’t had that opportunity, it’s wonderful.”
Starting after Memorial Day, tours will be offered twice a week at the park featuring three different guided hikes, with trails ranging from a mile and a half long to the longest loop at 3.5 miles. Neal emphasized that to schedule these guided tours, the reservation program will open online on May 15.
“We are going through a reservation program, so there’s going to be no extra charge to use these TerrainHoppers other than the pass on your vehicle,” Neal said. “We are going to require that people do reservations through our event management program, which is called CPW Connect on the website.”
As the weather shifts and southern Colorado heads into the warmer months, this new addition helps community members experience Mother Nature in ways they may not have been able to before.
“Personally, I think this park has a great little oasis that you can get away into nature,” Neal said. “Even though we’re very close to Colorado Springs, I think that it’s important for everybody to get out into nature. Sometimes to recenter themselves and find some peace, see some things that are very beautiful and so, this will just be a way that everybody can be able to do that.”
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