Greeley's Poudre River Trail Is About to Lose the Narrows Until Summer. Here's Where to Walk Instead.

Starting Monday, November 30, the City of Greeley will close the Narrows, the stretch of the Poudre River Trail that squeezes between the sandstone bluffs and the river just east of 83rd Avenue. On the project's Speak Up Greeley page, the trail is set to reopen May 31, 2027. When it reopens, the path will be twice as wide, going from 6 feet to 12.

Greeley has fixed eroding riverbank on this trail before without a closure this long. The Narrows takes six months because it's the one stretch where the trail has nowhere else to go.

Why the Narrows can't be moved

The City's restoration projects page describes the underlying problem. The Poudre was straightened, which made it steeper and faster. Faster water cuts deeper and puts more stress on the banks, and the banks erode until the trail above them is undercut. A corridor study finished in 2019 looked at repairing, replacing, or rerouting the trail wherever that was happening.

In 2025, the City finished one of the high-priority projects from that study, east of 71st Avenue. Crews built a floodplain bench, armored the riverbank with riprap, and moved the trail farther from the water. Rerouting the trail solved that spot.

The Narrows can't be fixed that way. The trail runs between sandstone bluffs on one side and the river on the other. The City says the trail "will remain in its current alignment." Crews will widen the bench the trail sits on and add a retaining wall on the river side to hold the bank. Building a wall at the river's edge under a bluff takes longer than shifting a path across open ground, and the trail can't stay open while the bench under it is being rebuilt.

The width change matters too. The Poudre River Trail Corridor's trail guide calls this the only section where nature forces the trail below 10 feet wide, and it asks users to go single file through "the narrows." At 12 feet, the narrowest stretch of the Greeley trail will be wider than that old 10-foot mark.

What the City has committed to, and what's still open

The project FAQ is clear about the closure:

"Yes, sections of the Poudre River Trail will be closed for the entire duration of the project."

A detour is less settled. The FAQ says one "may be possible" during some phases of construction and that details will go up on Speak Up Greeley when they're available. The City's September 29 announcement also says nearby neighborhoods may see temporary construction traffic, and it asks trail users to watch for signs at trail access points.

The City held an open house on October 1 at the Poudre Learning Center's InSTEM Building. Staff covered the construction work, the closure, and possible neighborhood impacts. Project updates will keep going up on the same Speak Up page. For conditions on any given day, the Poudre River Trail Corridor nonprofit recommends the Colorado Trail Explorer, or COTREX, and calls it the best and most up-to-date source for trail closures.

Six weekends left on the bluff stretch

From Saturday, October 24, through November 29, there are six weekends left to walk the Narrows before the scheduled closure. The usual starting point is the Poudre Learning Center at 8313 W. F Street, near 83rd Avenue, which has parking and a restroom.

Heading east from the Learning Center, the trail crosses 83rd Avenue, turns sharply north, then turns east again. It narrows as it passes between the base of Signature Bluffs and the river, crosses a bridge, and continues to the Signature Bluffs Natural Area. You'll know the natural area by its red barn and fishing pond. The bluffs also hold one of the oldest pieces of local history on the trail. The head gate of Greeley Canal No. 3, known as the #3 Ditch, is here. That ditch ran southeast through Greeley and was the original irrigation ditch for the Union Colony farms.

The trail guide also warns that poison ivy grows on both sides of the trail along the sandstone cliffs, and that rockfall is common there. Plan on going single file.

Once construction starts, Signature Bluffs Natural Area won't work as a stand-in for the Narrows, because the City lists the project as running through it.

Where the west-side routine goes after November 30

The Poudre River Trail Corridor maintains 22 miles of trail, from Island Grove in Greeley to River Bluffs and Kyger Reservoir in Windsor. The Narrows sits between Greeley's in-town access points and the Windsor end, so the closure splits the trail in two without ending it. The Greeley access points below start nearest the Learning Center and move east toward downtown, and none of them is named in the City's project description. Check COTREX before heading out anyway.

1. Sheep Draw Trail from Twin Rivers Community Park. Sheep Draw starts at 71st Avenue, just south of W. 10th Street, and passes the Greeley Family FunPlex on its way north to the Poudre River Trail. It has underpasses at 10th Street and 4th Street, and it meets the river trail just east of 59th Avenue and north of F Street. You can park at the FunPlex or in the park's other lots.
2. Rover Run Dog Park. Take 59th Avenue north, then F Street east. The park has parking, and the trail runs along its north end.
3. Poudre Ponds Recreation Fishery. The parking area near 35th Street and the river gives you trail access to both the east and the west.
4. Island Grove Park. The trailhead at 14th Avenue and D Street has parking, restrooms, drinking fountains, and picnic areas. As of the nonprofit's July update, the Island Grove spur return was closed until further notice.

Windsor is on the far side of the Narrows from these four, so from Greeley it's a drive this winter, not a walk. Kodak Watchable Wildlife Area has a parking lot and restroom just east of Highway 257, among mature cottonwoods where wild turkeys and deer are common. Eastman Park is a 25-acre park with parking, restrooms, a fishing pond, and playgrounds.

The nonprofit's July update also flagged active construction on the stretch west of the Learning Center. Conditions there may change, so check before planning a loop from that end.

The first two on the list are the closest substitutes for people who usually start at the Learning Center. Both connect to the river trail near 59th Avenue and F Street. Twin Rivers also gets a new playground this month.

Twin Rivers gets its upgrade first

The new Twin Rivers Community Park playground is set for a ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, October 28, from 4 to 6 p.m., with music and giveaways. That's 33 days before the Narrows closes.

The City's announcement says the project enlarged and upgraded the old play area, using input from public surveys and focus groups. The centerpiece is the Volo Aire tower, an accessible play feature designed to challenge children of all abilities. Other features include Braille signs, a visual communication board, and anti-static turf. It's also the first playground in Colorado with RightHear, technology that helps visitors with hearing-related needs.

Project lead Susan Murray told the City for that announcement, "We totally reimagined the play area at Twin Rivers." Murray is also on the Narrows project team, as the City's Division Manager for Planning and Capital Projects in Culture, Parks and Recreation. The playground was fully funded by Greeley's voter-approved Quality of Life Tax, which is also paying for playground replacements at other city parks. More on the playground is on its Speak Up Greeley page.

So during the closure, families who usually start at the Learning Center can park at Twin Rivers, use the new playground, and take Sheep Draw north to the river trail.

Whether you're a few blocks from Twin Rivers or close to the Learning Center trailhead, nearby trail access is part of what your home is worth. If you're curious what your west Greeley home would sell for, Manny P Sells Homes can put a number on it. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and Manny will walk you through it, maybe on one of the trails above.