About The Canal
71 miles meandering though the diverse physical and social mosaic of the region, experiencing the High Line Canal means connecting with nature and communities. The High Line Canal is one of the longest and most spectacular linear parks in the nation. It spans 11 governmental jurisdictions from Waterton Canyon in Douglas County to Green Valley Ranch in Northeast Denver. Its cottonwood banks weave through residential neighborhoods, public parks, golf courses, cemeteries, commercial and industrial lands, and over and under urban thruways, all while offering those traveling its banks a slice of nature in the City.
The Canal Today
As one of the longest (over 71 miles) continuous urban trails in the country, the Canal twists through the most populated area of Colorado while crossing multiple and varied communities. Over 350,000 residents reside within one mile of the Canal and recent data indicates that annually more than 500,000 people use the Canal as a recreational asset.
With the indisputable urgency for conservation and environmental protection of the natural places we love, the Canal has become a prime example of how we must look at the future differently than the past. More than 80 percent of the water diverted to the Canal seeps into the ground or evaporates prior to reaching a paying water customer, which means that the community needs to generate uses for the Canal and its greenway that will preserve the qualities that people love about it–spending time walking, riding and recreating along the Canal. To that end, the Conservancy and Denver Water are pursuing a comprehensive planning project to examine the long-term purpose of the Canal and its natural and recreational resources.
The Future of the Canal
The Canal is at a turning point in its future – a point at which, we, the community, need to proactively envision uses for the Canal and its greenway that will preserve and enhance the well-loved qualities of this incredible environmental and recreational asset.
Get Involved
Connect with the Conservancy to find out how you can get involved in the future visioning and planning of the Canal.
Visit
Hours + Rules
Hours: Open year round, 5 a.m. – 11 p.m., subject to modification by recreation agencies.
Uses: walking, nature viewing, bicycling, hiking, horseback riding, picnicking.
For more information on rules and amenities in the specific jurisdictional reaches, please visit the following:
- Denver Water Recreation
- Douglas County Parks, Trails and Building Grounds Division
- Metro District of Highlands Ranch Parks and Open Space
- South Suburban Parks and Recreation
- Greenwood Village Parks, Trails and Recreation Department
- Cherry Hills Village Parks, Trails and Recreation Department
- Denver Parks and Recreation Department
- Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department
Trail and Connection Highlights
- Diversion Dam and Main Headgate to to the High Line Canal – mile 0
- Historic Kassler Center – mile 1.60
- Chatfield State Park – mile 6.75
- Fly’n B Park – mile 14.80
- Centennial Bike Trail — mile 14.88
- Writers Vista Park – mile 17.90
- Lee Gulch Trail — mile 20.00
- Milliken Park – mile 23.10
- deKoevend Park – mile 24.10
- Big Dry Creek Trail – mile 24.60
- Little Dry Creek Trail — mile 29.00
- Greenwood Gulch Trail — mile 31.50
- Blackmer Common – mile 33.00
- Qunicy Farm – mile 33.80
- Three Pond Park – mile 35.00
- Bible Park – mile 41.80
- Cherry Creek Trail – mile 44.47
- Fairmount Cemetery – mile 47.5
- Westerly Creek Trail — mile 50.00
- Expo Park – mile 50.00
- Delaney Farms — mile 54.25
- West Tollgate Creek Trails — mile 54.57
- Star K Ranch Open Space — mile 59.00
- Triple Creek Connection — mile 60.70
- Dry Dock Brewery, North Dock —mile 62.40
Questions + Answers
In addition, due to high waters this year, the diversion structure at Waterton Canyon has been compromised and is in need of repair before water can be released into the Canal.
Yes, Denver Water has plans to repair the diversion structure prior to the Spring of 2016.
The Canal’s History
The workers who built the High Line Canal more than a century ago didn’t envision that people would be using their ambitious irrigation project as a recreational outlet in the midst of a busy urban area. In fact, to the builders of the 71-mile High Line, the Canal was solely a commercial idea to bring South Platte River water to settlers and farmers following a gold rush in 1859 near the confluence of the South Platte and Cherry Creek.
