Sand Creek Greenway

A U R O R A • C O M M E R C E C I T Y • D E N V E R • C O L O R A D O

Did you know that the Smith Road trailhead in Denver is getting a face lift?
Click here for more information!

Please note that this Sand Creek is not the location of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. This site is located near the town of Eads in the southeastern part of the state. For more information, please click here.

The Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership relies on our donors to build and maintain our beautiful greenway. We have a trail, but still need trailheads, park development, and more. You can help by making a secure online donation today.

Volunteer events are held to improve our Greenway throughout the year. Learn more about how you can volunteer and create positive change in our community.

Want to keep in touch with the Greenway about upcoming events, trail news, and volunteer opportunities? Sign up for our quarterly newsletter today.

Welcome

The Sand Creek Regional Greenway is a jewel in the necklace of trails that has made Denver a national model for linked trail systems.

This 14-mile public greenway connects the High Line Canal in Aurora, Colorado with the South Platte River Greenway in Commerce City. Along the way, it passes through Denver and the Stapleton community.

The Sand Creek Regional Greenway is open every day from dawn until dusk. Runners, walkers, nature viewers, horseback riders, and leashed dogs are encouraged to enjoy the trail. We invite you to become acquainted with our wilderness in the city.

News from the Greenway

Smith Road/Xanthia Area Closed

Attention Trail Users: Denver Water is installing a new water pipeline down Smith Road, and they have closed Smith Road under the new Central Park Boulevard bridge to do this work. Denver Water has also closed Xanthia Street across from the Smith Road bridge, which is a Greenway entrance point for many trail users.

We are trying to get a detour built that will take trail users from the corner of Xanthia and Smith Road to the pedestrian bridge over Sand Creek south of the Smith Road Trailhead. The new detour trail is not open yet, but we hope to have it operational within a week.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience and hope to have a safe alternative for trail users very soon. For more information, please call (303) 468-3262.

Announcing New Grants

We are pleased to announce new grants we recently received from two fantastic community partners. The Captain Planet Foundation grant will help fund our idea of putting recycling bins along the Greenway in Commerce City this summer. We will work with the Commerce City Boys & Girls Club on this project, who will learn about recycling and help us decorate and install the bins.

New Belgium Brewing Co. contributed funding to our Next Generation Partners youth outreach program, which serves at-risk local youth with free environmental education, recreation and community service opportunities. A big thanks to both of these fantastic organizations- we couldn't do it without you!

April 2012 Wrap Up

Phew- we have been busy this month!

On April 21, 100 volunteers from Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) transformed our Smith Road Trailhead in Denver. Volunteers worked for six hours to build two xeriscape gardens, install 400 feet of post and cable fence, and spread 200 tons of road base. The picture below speaks for itself!

A HUGE thanks to VOC for helping us with this project, as well as the Colorado Garden Show, Mortenson Construction and Recycled Materials for funding and in-kind donations. Click here for more pictures of the volunteer event and the finished trailhead.

The following weekend, 30 youth volunteers from the Commerce City Recreation Center and a dozen Xcel Energy employees planted 200 cottonwood and willow seedlings on the Greenway.

Thanks so much to our great volunteers for helping provide shade and wildlife habitat in this area for years to come! More pictures of this volunteer event can be found here.