The Eagle Valley Trail's Last Gap Is Being Built Toward Edwards

The Eagle Valley Trail is planned to run 63 miles from Vail Pass to Dotsero, and its organizers count five miles still to go. Those five miles run from Highway 131 in Wolcott east to Edwards. This season's construction happened at the Wolcott end of that gap. The Edwards end has no settled route, no construction date and the biggest price tag on the project, so it is lined up to be the last stretch of pavement built anywhere in the valley.

Where the pavement runs out

For anyone starting in town, the trail is a one-direction ride. Eagle County's trail map sends users onto the path at Hillcrest Road in west Edwards. From there you cross at the traffic signal near Eagle River Mobile Home Park and follow the trail through central Edwards toward the Berry Creek Recreation Center, the school campus, Miller Ranch Road and on to Avon. That older county map puts the West Edwards to Avon Road stretch at 6.3 miles.

Edwards' own 2025 Transportation Master Plan describes the paved trail as generally running alongside U.S. 6 through town, and it lists the section west of Edwards as incomplete. To the east, Edwards connects to the rest of the valley. To the west, the trail stops.

The gap, piece by piece

The full unfinished section runs 7.5 miles, from Horn Ranch Open Space to Edwards. In March 2025, Eagle County project manager Kevin Sharkey walked the county commissioners through it segment by segment, as Vail Daily reported. Read from west to east, the pieces get harder as they get closer to Edwards.

The four 2025 segment lengths add up to 8.9 miles, more than the 7.5 miles the trail organization gives for the whole gap. Its current materials also count the stretch east of Highway 131 as five miles, compared with 6.5 for the two eastern segments in the 2025 figures. In Vail Daily's account, the whole Horn Ranch to Edwards estimate came to between $54 million and $64 million, and some of those figures depended on route decisions that hadn't been made yet.

Work on the western end got going in 2025. The groundbreaking was held at Mott's Landing on July 1, 2025, with Johnson Construction as Phase 1 contractor and a July 31, 2026 finish target. The October 1 end-of-season update shows that date slipped. Crews were still working from Horn Ranch to Highway 131 and expected to keep going for about another month, weather permitting, before stopping for winter. That puts the shutdown around the end of October. The ribbon cutting for the section has moved to 2027, and no date has been set. Eagle County's bid documents for Phase 2, the stretch from the maintenance yard to Highway 131, set a finish date of June 24, 2027, depending on weather, permits and ground conditions.

So the gap will close from west to east. When the Wolcott section opens next year, riders coming from Gypsum and Eagle will be able to ride farther east than they can now. Edwards' side of the gap stays where it is.

Why the Edwards end comes last

The Wolcott segment's route depends on a land-use decision. Sharkey told commissioners that the 2.7-mile piece could run through the proposed residential development at Wolcott. That would cost far less than building beside Highway 6, which requires retaining walls, so he recommended waiting until the development's fate is decided. Eagle County lists that project as the Wolcott PUD, file PSD-9241-2022, at 28246 Highway 6. Its Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners hearings are both listed as "TBD." In 2023, Vail Daily described the proposal as 350 homes on 72.1 acres.

The 3.8 miles into Edwards have three possible routes, according to the March 2025 Vail Daily report:

1. Across Cordillera's open space. County officials once had a handshake agreement for this route. Sharkey said that agreement no longer exists.
2. Along Highway 6. This route means covering a ditch, and at the time only two of its three owners agreed. It is also the most expensive option.
3. Beside the Union Pacific railroad tracks. County Manager Jeff Shroll noted that county officials now had a specific contact at the railroad.

By July 2025, the trail organization's update said Cordillera no longer supports routing the trail through its open space parcel and that planners were working on a more difficult route on Union Pacific right-of-way. No railroad agreement or final route has been announced since then. The trail's FAQ page says only that finishing the last five miles depends on alignments, easements and construction costs.

That is why the Edwards end is last in line. Each segment to the west was waiting on one thing, either a right-of-way deal with CDOT or a county decision on a development. The stretch into Edwards needs a route, a property agreement and the largest share of the money, and none of the three is settled.

Who is paying for it

Eagle County has secured $22 million through certificates of participation and another $5 million in federal grants. RealVail reported in June 2025 that the $13 million Horn Ranch to Wolcott phase also had support from municipalities, metro districts, GOCO, CDOT, foundations, businesses and individual donors. Set against an estimate as high as $64 million for Horn Ranch to Edwards, local fundraising is a small share of the cost. In Vail Daily's account, Commissioner Tom Boyd said private fundraising may feel like a "drop in the bucket" but raises the project's profile.

Some of that money comes from restaurants. The trail organization's December 2025 progress update credited Group970 and its participating restaurants with raising more than $6,000 over a year-long campaign. The update also featured a trail happy hour fundraiser at Ein Prosit in Avon. Group970 owner Brian Nolan was quoted in that update:

"The Eagle Valley Trail is a valuable community asset… Supporting the trail is part of our commitment to giving back to the place where we live, work, and welcome visitors."

The organization also offers a replica Eagle Valley Trail marker sign to anyone who gives $100. Its October update describes the last five miles as dependent on community support.

Riding from Edwards between now and the snow

With the western gap still open, a ride from Edwards in late fall heads east. A few things change along that route as the season turns:

• Edwards to Avon. This is the 6.3-mile run from West Edwards to Avon Road, starting at Hillcrest Road and passing the Berry Creek Recreation Center and Miller Ranch Road.
• Dowd Junction. The Town of Vail closes this section for the winter. Last season it closed November 17, 2025, and was expected to reopen in mid-April 2026, weather permitting. Check the Town of Vail's recreation path page for this winter's dates before planning a ride to Vail.
• Gore Valley Trail in Vail. Vail keeps the stretch from Donovan Park to Lionshead open in winter but doesn't maintain it.
• Highway 6 west of Edwards. Eagle County's construction updates page has asked drivers to use caution in the Horn Ranch to Wolcott work zone, where signals have controlled temporary single-lane closures. Last winter, crews removed barriers and traffic went back to normal once work paused for the season.

The last new pieces to open near Edwards opened in 2024. Ribbon cuttings that June marked new sections at EagleVail, Dowd Junction and the Minturn connector. The next opening is the Horn Ranch to Wolcott section in 2027. It will bring the pavement to about five miles from the west end of Edwards, and that last stretch still has no settled route.

If you live in Edwards or Singletree and want to understand how projects like the Wolcott PUD or the final trail route could change the west end of town, Adam Bartlett follows these county decisions closely and is glad to talk them through with you. Request a Free Vail Valley Market Consultation.