Opening the Manitou Incline takes a $95,500 step forward

Hiking the Manitou Incline, an old railroad line that rises 2,000 feet up a steep hillside above Manitou Springs, can be a lumbering slog that tests one’s endurance.

So is the effort to get it officially opened to the public.

But there was good news Wednesday, when Great Outdoors Colorado announced a $70,500 grant to the city of Colorado Springs, coupled with a $25,000 donation from philanthropist Lyda Hill’s foundation to draw up a plan for opening the trail. Great Outdoors Colorado uses lottery money for parks, trails and open space projects.

“It means that we’re going to come forward with a management plan that says, ‘OK, here’s the way to open it and here’s all the things you need to do correctly,’” said Colorado Springs City Councilman Scott Hente, an Incline user who has been working more than four years to open the trail to the public.

The Incline, where a train once carried tourists up Mount Manitou, has been technically closed to the public for years, but as many as 70,000 people a year break the law for the leg-burning workout and great views. The heavy use has eroded and damaged the railroad ties.

Hente has been working to broker a deal among Manitou Springs and the land owners – Colorado Springs Utilities, the U.S. Forest Service and the Cog Railway – to open the trail. He said getting the money to come up with a master plan was a key step. 

The next step is for a task force of land managers, users and other interested groups to have their first meeting, set for Jan. 14. The meeting is not open to the public, though officials said public meetings will follow.

The grants are just for planning, and Hente doesn’t know how much money it will take to actually open the trail. A host of issues remain, including the finalization of an agreement between Utilities and Manitou Springs over sharing of revenue from Manitou charging for parking at the trail head.

While he applauded the grant, Hente expressed frustration with the pace of the process.

“If it was me and I was king for a day, I’d open that baby this  afternoon,” he said.

The task force will work with Colorado Springs Trails, Open Space and Parks and Manitou officials to come up with the plan for opening it. TOPS director Chris Lieber said that will take six to nine months. He acknowledged people would like to see it move faster.

“There is certainly a lot of enthusiasm for the project,” Lieber said. “We understand there are real issues and real challenges that need to be carefully thought through so the project overall can be real successful.”

“Getting the grant is a huge step to getting a plan in place. So we’re delighted to have this opportunity.”