Durango City Council has affirmed the city’s commitment to developing and maintaining Durango Mesa Park, a proposed world-class bike park, trail system and events space, through a long-term planning, development, maintenance and operations agreement.
The agreement defines the city’s and the foundation’s commitments and responsibilities regarding development, management and oversight, and eventual ownership of the park.
In short, the city and the foundation agreed to work together in pursuit of construction permits, to develop an operations plan and to eventually lease or transfer ownership of park features, such as the proposed bike park, to the city, and what entity has oversight of what responsibilities before and after that transfer, according to the agreement.
The agreement also stipulates for a management committee with representatives of the city and the foundation serving on it. The committee will be responsible for coordinating and planning events and operations, reviewing development plans and organizing a budget for maintenance and emergencies. It will have the authority to close trails for special events such as bike races, according to a description of the committee.
Durango Mesa Park Foundation Project and Program Manager Hogan Koesis said the long-term agreement epitomizes the city’s and the foundation’s partnership, which has been and will be vital for Durango Mesa Park’s long-term success.
He said the park’s success relies on programming and sustainability addressed in the long-term agreement.
Durango Mesa Park hosted nearly 8,000 visitors in 2024 for a variety of activities, such as demonstration bike trails, school athletic events and even a music concert. Koesis said the foundation is taking “the full gamut” of trail experiences among all users into consideration as it continues to develop the park.
That means next year, trails restricted to hiking, biking and mixed-use trails will be opening, he said.
“We’re going to build everything for everyone,” he told City Council on Dec. 3.
Earlier this year when Koesis was hired by the foundation, he said in a news release Durango Mesa Park’s bike park will be designed to convert non-cyclists to the hobby and the trail system being planned will connect bikers, hikers, runners and equestrians to nature.
He said last week the Durango Mesa Park project has the potential to “balance Western heritage with modern day park infrastructure.”
Development of the park was abundant this year. Notably, the city completed its 1,928-acre annexation of the park, an emergency egress road was finished and the Meadow Hub, a centralized zone connecting to bike trails and other future park amenities, was finalized in the spring.
“It really sets the tone for the gathering spaces that will be in the park,” Moira Compton, Durango Mesa Park Foundation executive director, told City Council.
She said the park hosted its first large-scale concert featuring Michael Franti & Spearhead, a hip-hop band that borrows from rock, funk, reggae and jazz, in the spring.
According to the foundation, the park also hosted Durango High School’s Aug. 31 home meet, which marked the park’s first trail running event.
On Sept. 1, it hosted the Second Annual Durango Derby, which featured solo, two- and four-person teams on over 31 miles of singletrack racing. The next weekend, it hosted Fort Lewis College’s Cycling Squawker mountain bike and slalom races. And on Oct. 19, the park hosted FLC Cycling’s Durango Mesa cyclocross race.
Next year, heavy construction will establish a connector trail between the Meadow Hub and future bike park trails. Construction got underway in November and is expected to be completed in 2026, according to a news release from the Durango Mesa Park Foundation. The foundation is preparing for road base construction next year for parking lots, grading, trails and other infrastructure, and construction details are also being fine-tuned for a proposed BMX track.
cburney@durangoherald.com
