High Plains Trail

The construction of the Parker Road Overpass for High Plains Trail will be suspended until mid-May due to waiting for a bridge fabrication to continue to the next phase. Construction on the Parker Road Overpass for the High Plains Trail began in April 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2023. This phase of the project is being coordinated by Arapahoe County Open Spaces, Public Works and Development, and Jalisco International, Inc. Visit the Arapahoe County High Plains Trail Connector Project page for additional information. 

Location

15601 S Parker Rd 

View Map

Highlights

  • Trail Surface: Concrete
  • Users: Cyclists (including E-Bikes), Pedestrians (including dogs on-leash), Equestrians
  • Runs E/W then N/S along Arapahoe County border, then W of E470

Proposed Parker Road Overpass

A new regional trail, the High Plains Trail, is in the works to the north of Parker along the E-470 corridor. This future trail is part of the recent E-470 Widening Project. The E-470 Authority designed, funded and constructed the regional trail from Quincy Avenue to approximately the county line between Arapahoe and Douglas Counties during the road widening project. This trail is planned to ultimately continue to the north adjacent to E-470 as their widening projects continue in the future.

The trail is planned to continue due west, separating from the E-470 corridor and crossing through the future Kings Point development in Aurora, including a grade separated overcrossing of Parker Road. Once the trail crosses over Parker Road, it will connect with the existing Cherry Creek Trail, where trail users can head north on the Cherry Creek Trail or head south and connect with the existing Centennial Trail (aka E-470 Trail) within Parker to continue west. This alignment will ultimately provide a much safer crossing of Parker Road than an at-grade crossing near Cottonwood Drive to the south.

High Plains Trail Phase Two Location Map (PDF)        

Regional Partnerships

Funding for the design and construction of the phase two project is a joint effort between Arapahoe County, City of Aurora, City of Centennial, Denver Regional Council of Governments, Douglas County, E-470 Public Highway Authority, Great Outdoors Colorado, and the Town of Parker.

Project Timeline and Construction

The partner’s group is working diligently on coordinating this complicated multi-jurisdictional trail project and making good progress. We anticipate the following construction timeline.

 The phase two trail project is divided into two trail segments. 

  • Segment 1- From the Cherry Creek Trail to the east side of Parker Road (Construction is anticipated Spring 2022.)
  • Segment 2- From the east side of Parker Road to the end of the existing High Plains Trail at the Douglas County and Arapahoe County line. (Construction is anticipated for fall of 2022 to spring of 2023, with timing dependent on the development of the Kings Point property in the City of Aurora.)