Glenwood Hiking and Biking Trails in Scotts Valley almost complete

In a few weeks there will be a new spot for hikers and bikers to enjoy in Scotts Valley.

“These trails will take you through redwood forest and grass lands and oakwood lands and give you great views of the city below, it should be a wonderful experience.”says Bryan Langay with the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County.

The main entrance to the three miles of trails will be on K Street off of Glenwood Drive right passed Scotts Valley High School.

Jacob Hyde with Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz has been helping design and build the trails. He says these outdoor activities have been gaining popularity in Santa Cruz County, “especially in the last five years it’s really blown up around here.”

Hyde says he’s been biking since he was 12 and had a hard time finding places to ride.

Which he says would often lead bikers to ride on illegal trails, “they’re more dangerous there’s not access for fire paramedics to get out there. They don’t know the trail name or where you are, if someone gets hurt, that’s kind of the main concern. Also the trails are not sustainably built so they’re going to deteriorate over the years.”

These Glenwood Preserve Trails are being funded by the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County by money raised during a campaign. They teamed up with Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz and the City of Scotts Valley to make the trails happen.

“This land was protected from the development almost 20 years ago through a lot of community action, the result was this preserve. It has so many rare and endangered species on it that planning trails was complicated. So we worked at that very hard and it took a long time.” says Langay.

A grand opening is expected to be held once the project is complete.

There are also plans to build 5 miles of trails on the other side of Glenwood Drive. That project will start in the winter.