Phil’s World Expansion Will Provide 22.5 Miles of Trail, Two Additional Parking Areas

The Bureau of Land Management has approved a 22-and-a-half mile expansion of the popular Phil’s World mountain biking trail east of Cortez. In a decision released Wednesday, BLM Tres Rios Field Office Manager Connie Clementson states the agency will also build two new parking areas along county roads L and M and provide access from several other county roads north of the original trail. The non-motorized trail expansion is the second-largest of three options proposed. It incorporates an approximately 355-acre “buffer zone” for an active golden eagle’s nest and avoids archaeological sites and private land. The BLM’s decision says trail construction will occur over multiple years depending on agency funding and volunteer support.