Permission to Roam

Add up every acre of open space and parkland Colorado Springs owns, from the tiniest playground to the Garden of the Gods and Red Rock Canyon Open Space, then add 5,000 acres.

That’s the size of the region’s recently reopened outdoor playground — the Air Force Academy.

At 18,500 acres, it’s more than 10 times the size of the new Cheyenne Mountain State Park and has at least double the miles of trails.

The base started welcoming civilians back to most areas earlier this month for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The very northern end of the base, where cadets train, is still off limits.

“We’re trying to strike a balance between security and access. After all, this is America’s campus,” said public affairs officer John Van Winkle.

As word of the opening spread, long-time locals have slowly returned to explore.

They’ve found the premier road-biking loops and the hikes that made the Academy a local favorite, as well as surprises that may turn the grounds into a top destination for all things outdoors.

“Hallelujah, hallelujah, it’s the first time it’s been open in five years,” said Dick Hamilton, a cyclist from Monument, after riding there on a recent morning.

Hamilton, 73, has lived in the region 25 years and knows the glory of the rolling 13-mile Stadium Loop — wide shoulders, almost no traffic.

“And it absolutely gorgeous,” he said.

For years, the loop was a haven for weekend group rides. When it closed in a wave of heightened security that clamped down access to military bases nationwide, people pretty much forgot about it.

Demand for trails in the region has exploded, driven by a housing boom in neighboring Gleneagle and Monument. Compared with other parts of the county, these areas have relatively few places to access public land.

Exploring the academy can be intimidating at first. Armed airmen guard every entrance. But all you need to access the land is a photo ID.

“When I heard it might be opening again, I just sort of tootled in there, and it worked,” Hamilton said. “We’re so pleased and grateful they’ve opened it up again. It’s really a huge asset to the community.”

On the Stadium Loop, guard posts stand empty. Once you’re through the entry gate, it’s easy to forget this is a military installation.

It’s not just the road bikers who are excited. The Academy grounds bristle with trails into the Pike National Forest. Hikers have a choice of trekking to remote reservoirs or scrambling up to craggy postcard summits.

On a recent afternoon, John Vallez stopped to catch his breath near the top of the steep stairway of boulders that is the trail up Eagle Peak.

“I’ve always loved this trail,” he said. “The view at the top is awesome, and it’s only, like, two miles up there.”

Trail runners and mountain bikers won’t want to miss the phenomenal Falcon Trail.

In the last two years, it was regraded and rerouted, and now forms a rolling 13-mile tour around the base that winds past Falcon Stadium and the Academy Chapel, then wanders to the most remote reaches of the campus.

“It’s really the best trail on the Academy,” said the base’s natural resources director, Brian Mihlbachler. “I’d like to get folks out on it so they can appreciate what we’ve got out here.”

The meticulously maintained tread has all the dips, drops and twists of classic singletrack.

“It’s a beautiful trail,” said Robert Houdek, the cartographer behind the Pikes Peak Atlas. “It rolls through the low foothills ecosystem. In a lot of ways it reminds me of Aiken Canyon.”

“But the Academy is full of beautiful trails,” Houdek said. “It was a common hiking destination before the paranoid days. Hopefully it will be again.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0223 or dave.philipps@gazette.com

FAVORITE RIDES AND HIKES

Stadium Loop

What: 12.7-mile paved road loop that rolls through the oak- and pine-covered hills of the Academy. Riders rave over the scenery, lack of traffic, and broad, clean shoulders.

Where: The ride combines Stadium Drive, North Gate Boulevard, Academy Drive and Pine Drive, with many shorter options. Ride in from town or the New Santa Fe Trail or drive on and park along the loop.

Rules: Riders need to wear helmets and ride singlefile.

Falcon Trail

What: This 13-mile singletrack loop is the best intermediate mountain bike trail in the Pikes Peak region, hands down. Falcon is rarely technical, but it’s always fun with plenty of fast twists and turns, and breath-taking scenery. The ups and downs are many but usually brief. Only 700 feet separate the highest and lowest points. Best of all, the recently redone path has scores of built-in berms that make it feel like a roller coaster.

Where: The trail has no official trailhead. Start by turning off Academy Drive and driving .6 miles to a parking area on the right, just past a sign for the Falcon Stadium press box. White plastic pickets mark the whole trail. To make the best of the downhills, ride clockwise.

Rules: Helmets required; watch for horses, pedestrians.

Little Incline

What: A steep stairway of railroad ties climbs 205 feet up a mesa. You won’t find a better stair workout this side of Manitou Springs. True, it’s only a fraction of the height of the incline, which rises about 2,100 feet, but if you run 10, you’ll feel just as trashed.

Where: Two miles west of Stadium Drive on Pine Drive. Look for stairs climbing the hillside on the right. Park on the shoulder.

Eagle Peak

What: Near-vertical trail (1,900 feet in 1.25 miles) that’s a favorite workout of cadets, leads to a pointed, rocky summit with unobstructed 360-degree views of Pikes Peak, the city and the academy that are hard to beat.

Where: Park at the visitors center on Academy Drive and walk west across the road to a dirt road leading up toward the triangular granite top of Eagle Peak. Veer right after the power transformer station, then left at the next Y.

A sign a few meters up the road marks the start of the trail. It climbs up a rocky, but stable, flume of boulders to a small meadow, then hangs a left and climbs the final steps to the rocky summit.

Stanley Canyon

What: Classic steep, five-mile round trip hike from the Academy to remote Stanley Reservoir with a stunning canyon hike and great views of the Academy.

Where: Pick up the well-marked trail by taking Academy Drive west to Pine Drive. Turn left. Go .4 miles and turn right onto a dirt road. Drive .6 miles to the trailhead.

Rules: Most of this trail lies in Pike National Forest, and dogs are welcome.

West Monument Creek (Trail 713)

What: Narrow, fairly grand canyon with good access to the national forest above; aesthetics are so-so because of roads that service a city water pipeline. But this well-signed trail also connects with Stanley Reservoir, making an ambitious loop combined with Stanley Canyon and the Falcon Trail.

Where: From Stadium Drive, turn west onto Pine Drive. At the fire station, after about three miles, turn left onto West Monument Creek Drive. Drive about a mile. Just before a gate closes the road, look for a dirt road on the right. This is the trailhead. Follow signs here for Trail 713.

VISITING THE ACADEMY

Open: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Access points: From the north, take Interstate 25 Exit 156B and drive west to the north gate. From the south, take I-25 Exit 150 and go north on Academy Boulevard to the south gate.

What to take: Photo ID and, if you’re biking, a helmet.

Leave at home: Bodies, bales of marijuana, suspicious white powders or any other incriminating objects you might have lying around in your trunk.

Guards give a quick search of your vehicle at the entry gate.

Info: 333-2025, 335-7742 or www.usafa.af.mil