Ute Valley Park will be getting bigger soon

One of the most popular open spaces in Colorado Springs is about to get bigger.

Ute Valley Park will be growing by nearly 40 percent soon.

It’s a little slice of unspoiled beauty in the middle of Colorado Springs. And it’s always crowded. The parking lot is full, even on a Wednesday morning.

Neighbors love taking advantage of what it has to offer.

Barb Mattingley-Gaul said, “I come to Ute Valley Park every day between 10 and 11 (a.m.) on my lunch break to take my dogs out for a walk.”

Visitors soon figure out how nice the park is too. Jeramiah Loomis and his friends were visiting from Missouri.

“I like it. It’s very open, very pretty, you’ve got that ridge up there,” he said.

You can hike, ride and climb, and there are about to be another 200 acres to do it on. The Palmer Land Trust holds a conservation easement on the new property, but other groups contributed to the expansion as well.

Rebecca Jewett, the executive director of the trust said, “we’re working in close partnership with the city of Colorado Springs, the Trust for Public Land (and) Great Outdoors Colorado.”

Saving this land for future generations is important to preserve the beauty that we expect to see in Colorado.

“We’re providing more opportunities for the citizens who live in that area, as well as adding to the overall package that Colorado Springs offers to its residents,” said Jewett.

It’s an appealing package to the visitors from Missouri.

Loomis said, “I’d be super stoked to come back and find it bigger, that’s awesome.”

So no matter where you come from you will soon be able to see an even larger slice of natural Colorado – right in the middle of the city.

The city is deciding where to put trails on the land and working to see if other uses would be appropriate.

You can see the Draft Master Plan at the Friends of Ute Valley website.