For as long as most Twin Buttes residents have been riding out their back door, the trail network has had an awkward seam running through the middle of it. Cliffrock Loop and the Upper Twin Buttes trail sit close enough that you can see one from the other, but until this summer the only way to get from one to the other was a steep, technical downhill followed by an equally stout climb back up. Fine if you're comfortable dropping into loose rock at speed. Not fine if you're walking the dog, teaching a kid to ride, or just want an evening loop that doesn't end with you pushing your bike.
That gap is finally closed, and it changes how a Wednesday evening at Twin Buttes actually works.
A trail system with two tiers and no bridge between them
Twin Buttes' 14-mile network didn't happen by accident. Ed & Flo Trail, the tricky 1.3-mile descent that tests bikers with tight turns and rock obstacles on its upper half, is named for Ed and Flo Pauls, the parents of Twin Buttes owners Glenn and Terri Pauls, who donated the land the trail now crosses to the City of Durango. The Railroad Switchback Trail below it runs along the old grade of the Boston Coal & Fuel Railroad, which once hauled coal down from the mining town of Perins, northwest of the neighborhood. These are trails with a history, built and still maintained largely through the volunteer hours of the nonprofit Durango Trails.
But history aside, the layout left a real problem. Cliffrock Loop, at 2.53 miles with 358 feet of elevation gain, is a moderate ride most people can manage. Upper Twin Buttes has its own moderate stretches. The connection between them, though, was described by the City itself as an advanced downhill paired with a stout, technical climb back up, the same kind of terrain that makes Upper Ed & Flo a difficult-rated trail elsewhere in the system. If you weren't ready for that, you didn't get the full loop. You got half the system and a car shuttle.
What the City actually built, and why it took until now
The City of Durango announced the fix back in October 2024: a new trail through Twin Buttes Open Space built specifically for less experienced riders and hikers, following a gentler, more meandering line with views of the cliffrock formation itself rather than a straight technical shot between the two existing trails. It was also designed to extend the terrain open to Class 1 e-bikes, adding to a network that's already one of the few in Durango where e-bikes are allowed.
Then it stalled. Equipment failures during 2025 construction, combined with a shortage of available trail crews, pushed the project past its original timeline. The City and Durango Trails picked the work back up once the winter wildlife closure lifted this spring, with an estimated completion date of July 4, 2026. Durango Trails volunteers were still out finishing tread on the new alignment as late as July 23, in what the organization listed as its final trailwork session of the season. If you haven't ridden it yet, you're not behind. As of this writing it's either freshly rideable or in its very last stretch of finishing work, which is exactly the kind of thing worth checking before your next evening loop rather than assuming.
The project has a name attached to it too. Owen Tallmadge, Durango's natural resource manager, has been the point of contact on the Engage Durango project page throughout the delays, which is a more direct line to trail status than guessing from a map.
Here's how the pieces fit together now:
| Trail | Distance | Difficulty | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cliffrock Loop | 2.53 miles | Moderate | Meadow and ridge views, moderate climbs |
| Upper Ed & Flo | 1.32 miles | Difficult | Steep downhill through ponderosa, tight turns |
| Lower Ed & Flo | 0.69 miles | Moderate | Better suited to hikers than the upper section |
| New connector trail | Est. summer 2026 | Beginner-friendly | Links Cliffrock Loop to Upper Twin Buttes without the technical drop |
The practical effect is that a rider who's comfortable on Cliffrock Loop but not on Ed & Flo now has a way to string together a longer evening loop instead of doubling back the way they came. That's a small thing on paper. It's the difference between a 20-minute out-and-back and an hour-long loop for a meaningful share of the people actually using these trails on a Tuesday after work.
Why Wednesday still matters more than the trail
None of this happens in a vacuum. Twin Buttes runs on a weekly rhythm, and Wednesday is the hinge. The Twin Buttes Farm Stand at 165 Tipple Ave. opens from 3:00 to 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday from mid-June into early October, and it's not just a produce table. Property owners get a 15 percent discount during growing season, the farm keeps its own apiary for honey, and the same fields that supply the stand also wholesale to a list of restaurants that reads like a tour of Durango's dining scene: Zia, the Ore House, El Moro, Bread, Eolus, Durango Natural Foods, and the James Ranch Market. If you've eaten a salad in downtown Durango this summer, there's a real chance part of it grew a few hundred yards from a Twin Buttes driveway.
The stand also does online ordering Monday through Thursday with Friday pickup after 1 p.m., which matters if the Wednesday window doesn't line up with your schedule. And the neighborhood's alpacas hang out in the park near the stand, which is either a charming bonus or a mild inconvenience depending on how your kids feel about livestock.
That park, Historic Tram City Park, sits along the main entrance route past the Farm Stand, with a bandstand, playground, and picnic tables that host occasional concerts on the lawn. Put a Wednesday evening loop through the new connector trail together with the Farm Stand and a stop at the park, and you've got a version of Twin Buttes that didn't fully exist as recently as last summer, when the trail gap meant skipping half the network and the Farm Stand was the whole plan.
One thing to check before the calendar turns
The upper sections of the Twin Buttes trail system, including Cliffrock Loop, close annually from December 1 through April 15 to protect wildlife habitat, and the same upper terrain the new connector passes through should be expected to fall under that same window. The lower trails, like most of the Railroad Switchback route, stay open and are even suited to snowshoeing once the snow comes. Deer, wild turkeys, and the occasional coyote are common enough on these trails that the closure isn't just a formality. If you're planning routes into late fall, build that closure date into your thinking now rather than showing up to a locked gate in December.
For a neighborhood that's spent years advertising 14 miles of trail while quietly gatekeeping half of it behind a black-diamond connector, that's the real story of this summer. The infrastructure finally matches the pitch.
If you're already living this rhythm, whether it's a loop that starts at the east trailhead or a produce pickup on your way home Wednesday, you know Twin Buttes better than any general guide to Durango real estate is going to tell you. And if a friend or family member has been asking what your corner of town is actually like day to day, this is a decent answer. When the conversation turns to what a home here is actually worth in today's market, Jeremiah Aukerman offers a free home valuation for neighbors who'd rather have a real number than a guess.
