(PHOTOS) New trails being built throughout Casper Mountain as part of large-scale project

CASPER, Wyo. — Hikers, bike riders, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts will soon have more than a dozen miles of new trails to explore, thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Central Wyoming Trails Alliance.

When all is said and done, CWTA trails director Austin Burgess said, nearly 10 miles of trails throughout the mountain will have been expanded to about 22.5 miles. The roughly 12.5 miles of new trails will span 11 individual trails, with some already open for use.

“We’re more than doubling it,” Burgess said. “It’s a big project.”

All the trails will be multi-use, though Burgess said two of the trails will be optimized for mountain bike use.

“Those ones will be more downhill and streamlined,” he said. “They’ll be the only ones that you can’t ride horses on, but they’ll all be multi-use.”

The various trails will have four primary trailheads: the Casper Mountain Trails Center; the Casper Mountain Biathlon Club, Skunk Hollow Trailhead and Tower Hill Trailhead. Currently, the Trails Center parking lot is closed for repairs, though Burgess said county officials assured him it would be reopened by the time the trails starting there are ready for use.

Burgess estimated that work likely won’t be fully completed until early 2026, though trails will be regularly opening as they’re completed. Some miles’ worth of trails are already available to use, and the CWTA hopes to host official grand openings for the Mine Shaft Trail, Fool’s Gold Trail and Spillway Trail and the new black diamond and double black diamond trails in early 2025.

Building trails is a lengthy and involved process, beginning with months of meticulous planning before the process of constructing the paths even starts. Crafting trails that make use of the naturally occurring landscapes, avoid obstacles like erosion and nearby campgrounds and provide users with the best walking experience possible is often a balancing act, Burgess said.

After the planning and design phase, work begins in earnest in building the trails. A combination of machines and manual labor are utilized for best results. According to Burgess, machines allow work to go much faster, while the human element allows for more precise work.

“With the machines, we can get work done in a week that would take a team of humans months to finish,” Burgess said. “The machine has gone through and put the bench cut in. And now we’re in there actually doing the raking and making the trail exactly what it needs to be.”

In some cases, trail-building necessitates trees, boulders, dense foliage and more to be removed, which serves as another challenge in the process.

Burgess added that volunteers are relied upon to help the work progress faster. Some organizations, such as the Casper Area Mountain Bike Youth Racing Team, help regularly. The CWTA hosts volunteer work groups every Monday. Burgess said any groups, organizations or individuals who want to help can learn more about volunteering by messaging the alliance’s Facebook page.