Serpents Trail
{{distinguish|text= the Serpent Trail, a long distance footpath in England, United Kingdom.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Serpents Trail
| nrhp_type =
| image = Serpents Trail in Colorado National Monument Scenic view during rainstorm.jpg
| caption = Serpents Trail, September 2017
| nearest_city = Grand Junction, Colorado
| coordinates = {{coord|39|1|53|N|108|38|11|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Colorado#USA
| area =
| built = 1921
| architect = John Otto, J. B. Claybaugh
| architecture =
| added = April 21, 1994{{NRISref|2008a}}
| mpsub = Colorado National Monument MPS
| refnum = 94000307
}}
The Serpents Trail, also known as the Trail of the Serpents and the Serpentine Trail, is a trail within the Colorado National Monument in Mesa County, Colorado, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Description
The trail was built by the visionary John Otto, who began the campaign to establish the national monument. The trail was, in fact, a road from Grand Junction through No Thoroughfare Canyon to the rimrock near Cold Shivers Point, with an elevation gain of nearly {{convert|1100|ft|m}} over {{convert|2.5|mi|km}}. From Cold Shivers Point the road proceeded at a gentler grade for {{convert|4|mi|km}} to Glade Park. Otto began his survey in 1911 with the help of civil engineer J.F. Sleeper. Otto's grand plan was to link Grand Junction to Moab, Utah by a scenic road to be part of a transcontinental road system. Construction began in 1912 and continued sporadically to 1921, when Mesa County took the project over. Engineer J.B. Claybaugh completed the project in 1924.{{Cite book|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Serpents Trail|url={{NRHP url|id=94000307}} |format=pdf|date=January 1994 |author=R. Laurie and Thomas H. Simmons |publisher=National Park Service}}
The construction of the Rim Rock Drive destroyed portions of the Serpents Trail. A {{convert|1.6|mi|km|adj=on}} portion has been preserved as a hiking trail.{{cite web|url=http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/report.asp?STATE=CO&PARK=COLM&STRUCTURE=&SORT=&RECORDNO=134|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521212714/http://www.hscl.cr.nps.gov/insidenps/report.asp?STATE=CO&PARK=COLM&STRUCTURE=&SORT=&RECORDNO=134|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 21, 2011|date=2008-12-13|work=List of Classified Structures|title=Serpents Trail|publisher=National Park Service}} During the 1930s the Park Service considered upgrading the trail to a higher standard of road, but dropped the project. Only the relatively gentle upper section of the trail was incorporated into Rim Rock Drive in 1939–40.
The trail was added to the National Register of Historic Places April 21, 1994
See also
{{portal|National Register of Historic Places}}
References
{{reflist|22em}}
External links
{{commons category|Serpents Trail}}
- {{HAER |survey=CO-28 |id=co0175 |title=Trail of the Serpent, .4 miles from East Entrance, Grand Junction vicinity, Mesa County, CO |photos=9 |data=2 |cap=1}}
- {{NRHP url|id=94000307|title=Photographs of the Serpent's Trail|photos=y}} at the National Park Service's NRHP database
{{NRHP in Colorado NM}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}
Category:Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Monument
Category:Transportation in Mesa County, Colorado
Category:Hiking trails in Colorado
Category:Protected areas of Mesa County, Colorado
Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Colorado
Category:1921 establishments in Colorado
{{Colorado-NRHP-stub}}