Three Springs residents who head toward the Spur Line Trailhead this month will find the usual gravel approach gone. As of the City of Durango's Orange Cone Report posted October 4, 2026, Wilson Gulch Drive is closed from the Confluence Avenue roundabout for major road and utility work, and the City expects construction to run through November. The Grandview BLM trails reached from Three Springs have a second deadline. Last season they closed for wintering wildlife on December 1.
Line those dates up and this fall's trail season in Three Springs has two edges, and outside agencies set both. The road crew is scheduled to finish around the time the ridge has closed in past years. In between, the loops inside the neighborhood keep their normal hours.
Who Sets Each Schedule
| Trail edge | Who controls the timing | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Spur Line Trailhead approach via Wilson Gulch Drive | City of Durango road and utility project | Road closed from the Confluence Avenue roundabout; trail access stays open; work expected through November |
| Grandview BLM trails accessed from Three Springs | BLM, with the City and other land managers | Open now; the 2025–26 closure ran December 1 to May 1 |
| Three Springs Connect, Mercy, Switcher and Rail Spike loops, plus Water Tank Road | Neighborhood trail system | No closure listed |
| Paved SMART 160 link to the Animas River Trail | City of Durango | About one of three miles complete; remaining sections in design and permitting |
The Spur Line Road Is Being Built for a School
The Wilson Gulch Drive project goes well beyond a resurfacing job. According to the City, crews are extending new utility lines to the Spur Line Trailhead and replacing the gravel road with a two-lane paved road that has a raised median. When it is done, the pavement will run past the trailhead and connect to Prospector Avenue East. The City says the work comes ahead of construction on the Durango School District's new Three Springs Elementary School.
That school set the pace for this fall. The Durango Herald reported in May that the district held a ceremonial groundbreaking, with major construction scheduled to start June 1 and finish in December 2027 or January 2028, and the school planned to open for the 2028–29 year. So this fall's road work is the first piece of a much longer building schedule on the northeast side of the neighborhood. The way people reach Spur Line now is being rebuilt for school traffic.
The trails themselves stay open in the meantime. The City says public trail access will remain available for the whole project, with parking allowed along the south side of Prospector Avenue.
For residents who drive to the trailhead, that changes the routine in three ways:
- Skip the Confluence Avenue roundabout entry to Wilson Gulch Drive. That is where the closure starts.
- Park on the south side of Prospector Avenue, which the City has set aside for trail parking during the work.
- Expect the closure to last through November, and check the weekly Orange Cone Report for changes.
Why Spur Line Is Worth the Detour
Durango Trails describes Spur Line as five miles of introductory singletrack plus a small pump track, located off Wilson Gulch Road on the northeast side of Three Springs. It was designed for beginning mountain bikers of all ages. When that page was posted in 2024, Durango Trails also described a planned northern trail that would connect to Cowboy, Sidewinder and Horse Gulch. The current Three Springs trail directory does not list that connector. Riders should treat it as a plan until the trail is signed and on the map.
The Ridge Has an Earlier Deadline
The longer rides start on the other side of the neighborhood. The 0.5-mile Three Springs Connect Loop is a beginner route that runs from Water Tank Road near Mercy Loop up to Grandview Ridge Road. From there, the Grandview Ridge directory lists Old Car Loop, Yellow Brick Road, Skull Rock, Grandview Ridge Road, Crites Connect, Sidewinder, Cowboy, Sale Barn, Big Canyon, South Rim and Carbon Junction. Grandview Ridge borders Horse Gulch and connects across Telegraph, which puts Raider Ridge, Mike's, Stacy's Loop and the rest of the Horse Gulch system within reach.
Much of that ridge belongs to a different land manager. BLM describes its Grandview and Skyline parcels as BLM-managed land connected to the City-run Horse Gulch system. In its November 30, 2025 notice, the City listed the Grandview BLM trails accessed from Three Springs among the winter closures. The same notice closed the Big Canyon and Sale Barn trailheads, South Rim Trail, and the portions of Sidewinder and Cowboy on BLM land reached from Carbon Junction or Crites Connect. The closures exist to protect mule deer, elk and other wildlife that move down from higher elevations for the winter.
The City has not yet posted its 2026–27 notice. Two earlier sources set expectations. BLM's standing closure page gives an annual period of December 1 through April 30, with a possible April 15 opening if conditions allow. Last season, the City announced the closures were lifted as of May 1, 2026. If the usual December 1 date holds, October and November are the last months to ride the BLM side of Grandview from Three Springs until spring. The Wilson Gulch road project overlaps that same window.
The City's winter notice also asks trail users to pick other places or activities when trails are muddy, to prevent damage.
September's Rain Hit the Way In, Too
The same storms reached the roads that most residents use to get home. The Durango Herald reported on October 4 that heavy, steady September rain flooded the Wilson Gulch roundabout at the Grandview Interchange. That roundabout is the north one of the pair. CDOT crews cleared it at least once with plows, bulldozers and backhoes. A CDOT spokeswoman said the roundabout also had problems during heavy rain in July or August. According to the Herald, the City, CDOT and the owner of the Maverik station uphill are discussing a fix, but no solid plan exists yet. Kevin Curry, CDOT's regional chief engineer, described the obstacle:
"Resolving this issue is a challenge since the needed enhancements for improved drainage need to be installed on Wilson Gulch Road and Zyme Rock Road, off of our State right-of-way, and within the city limits."
On US 160, CDOT's resurfacing project includes new ADA-compliant ramps at Three Springs Boulevard. The City's October 4 report also listed staggered nighttime closures of the Grandview Interchange ramps through early October, plus milling and paving between Three Springs and Highway 3. That makes a third agency on a third schedule, all touching the same few entrances to the neighborhood.
The Loops With No Closure Listed
Some trails in Three Springs are not on any of these schedules. The current Three Springs Trail System directory lists Spur Line Trails, the Three Springs Connect Loop, Water Tank Road, Mercy Loop, Switcher Loop and Rail Spike Loop. The neighborhood's own recreation page describes paved paths that wind through the neighborhood and its wetlands and connect to the Telegraph system, which the page credits to Trails 2000 for building and maintaining. None of these neighborhood loops appear in the City's construction report or in last winter's wildlife closure list.
Two other projects are further off. The Three Springs FAQ says the 75-acre City community park on the northeast edge of Village I will be built in phases as City funding allows. For now, Confluence Park has a playground and a picnic area. The City's SMART 160 project page describes a paved multi-use connection between the southern Animas River Trail and Three Springs. About one mile of the planned three is complete, Segment 1 is 90% designed, and the City is still working through BLM and CDOT permits and construction funding. Dog owners should know the City's May 2026 recreation update names the park at the base of Smelter Mountain as the only off-leash dog park.
Food Close to the Trails
The neighborhood's food stops sit along the same streets as the detours. The August 2026 Three Springs business directory lists Homeslice Pizza at 125 Mercado Street, Suite 105, its third Durango location, with dine-in and carryout. Taco Boy is at 150 Confluence Avenue, #101C. Bear's General Store, at 65 Mercado Street, Suite 119, sells beer, wine, spirits and everyday convenience items.
The neighborhood calendar has no date yet for this year's Three Springs Fall Festival. The last one, the 19th annual, was held October 25, 2025.
By the time the next school year begins in 2028, the paved road to Spur Line will be part of everyday traffic in Three Springs. For owners thinking about how the new Wilson Gulch Drive, the school site and the trail access fit into their home's story, Zach Morse and the team follow these changes block by block. When the timing feels right, Request a Market Valuation and we will walk through what the coming years of construction mean for your address.
