If you've walked or ridden the canal near Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve this summer, you've probably noticed the crew working the ground near the trail rather than on it. No mill, no fresh asphalt, no orange barrels funneling bikes into a single lane. Just trenching, a groundwater well going in, and irrigation lines running out toward the cottonwoods.
That's not a delay before the "real" upgrade arrives. It is the upgrade. And it tells you something about how Greenwood Village is choosing to treat its stretch of the canal that's easy to miss if you only think of trail work as pavement.
Three Miles, Three Very Different Walks
The High Line Canal Trail runs 71 miles across the metro, but the three segments that cross Greenwood Village don't feel like pieces of the same trail. They feel like three different errands.
Segment 11, sometimes called the Greenwood Village Amble, starts at South Franklin Street and runs 4.6 miles to the Orchard Road Trailhead. It's the horse-country stretch: bridle paths, pastures, rolling terrain, and a crushed gravel surface rather than pavement. There's no parking at the Franklin Street end, so most regulars park at Orchard Road and treat it as an out-and-back.
Segment 12, the Nature Preserve Amble, picks up at Orchard Road and runs 3 miles to the Belleview Avenue trailhead. This is the wildlife stretch. It overlooks a historic farm property that's now preserved open space, and the documented sightings along here include ducks, blackbirds, foxes, coyotes, hawks, bats, and the occasional deer. Surface is crusher-fine gravel again, and both ends have restrooms.
Segment 13 continues north from Belleview into Cherry Hills Village, 2.9 miles to Three Pond Park through an area called Blackmer Common. Open grassland, tall canopy, still shared heavily with horses.
| Segment | Distance | Surface | Character | Where to park |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11: Greenwood Village Amble | 4.6 mi | Crushed gravel | Horse pastures, bridle paths, rolling hills | Orchard Road Trailhead (out-and-back) |
| 12: Nature Preserve Amble | 3.0 mi | Crusher-fine gravel | Wildlife, Front Range views | Orchard Road or Belleview trailheads |
| 13: Cherry Hills Village | 2.9 mi | Crusher-fine gravel | Open grassland, tree canopy | Belleview Ave or S. Colorado Blvd |
None of this is paved into the kind of wide commuter bikeway you'd find on a standard urban multi-use path. That's a choice, and it shapes everything else about how the trail behaves.
The Horse Always Has the Right of Way
Because the surface stays gravel instead of asphalt, the corridor has kept a genuinely working equestrian culture rather than a decorative one. Greenwood Village backs that up with actual infrastructure: Rollin D. Barnard Park, Alexander Lane Equestrian Park, the Colorado Boulevard Equestrian Trail, and marked equestrian crossings along the canal.
The rules that come with that aren't just etiquette suggestions. They're the posted standard for the corridor:
- Equestrians have the right of way. If you're on foot or on a bike and you meet a horse, you yield.
- Cyclists yield to pedestrians.
- Dogs must stay leashed.
- Bicycles and other non-vehicular devices are capped at 15 mph.
- Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are permitted, but the same 15 mph limit applies.
That speed cap matters more than it sounds. A lot of regional trails don't post one at all, which is part of why this stretch still feels like a park path instead of a city bike corridor even on a busy Saturday.
The Work Underway Isn't What You'd Guess
Here's the part that surprises people who assume "trail construction" always means wider and faster. Greenwood Village's current capital project on the canal, covering roughly miles 26 through 33 of the 71-mile system, is an irrigation system, not a resurfacing plan. The city is designing infrastructure to water the trees and prairie plantings along the entire Greenwood Village reach of the canal. The first phase, running around Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve, is being installed now and is supported by a dedicated groundwater well. A second phase covering more of the corridor could begin later this year, according to the High Line Canal Conservancy. The funding comes from the city itself, with support from Arapahoe County Open Spaces and the Conservancy.
Compare that to what's happening a few miles down the same waterway. Arapahoe County, which owns a large share of the trail outside Greenwood Village, has been upgrading older stretches from narrow, decades-old asphalt into a wider 12-foot paved standard. A segment between Quebec Street and Parker Road is scheduled to start that kind of construction in 2026, part of a broader push to standardize the trail's surface and capacity across the jurisdictions that maintain it, according to reporting from The Cherry Creek News.
Same canal, same year, two different priorities. One government is widening its section into faster, higher-capacity infrastructure. Greenwood Village is spending money to keep its trees alive and its gravel exactly as gravelly as it already is. If you've wondered why this stretch has stayed a country lane while other parts of the metro trail system get modernized, that's the answer. It isn't neglect. It's a maintenance budget with a specific goal, and the goal isn't speed.
What This Means for Your Fall Routine
A few practical notes worth keeping in your head as the season turns.
If you're doing an out-and-back on Segment 11, park at Orchard Road Trailhead rather than trying to find street parking near the Franklin Street end. There isn't any, though neighborhood access exists if you're walking from home.
Restrooms exist at both the Orchard Road and Belleview trailheads, which is useful information if you're planning a longer loop through Segments 11 and 12 together.
If you'd rather skip parking altogether, the canal is reachable without a car from three light rail stops: Arapahoe Station at Village Center, Orchard Station, and Dayton Street Station. That makes the trail one of the few pieces of Greenwood Village infrastructure that works equally well as a weeknight walk or a weekend commute on foot.
And if the irrigation project's second phase does start this fall as planned, expect some localized work zones along the canal in the coming months. Nothing on the scale of a full trail closure based on what's been described, but worth building into your route planning if you run the same stretch on a schedule.
None of this changes the fact that the canal through Greenwood Village still reads like a rural lane tucked into a city that includes the Denver Tech Center, Greenwood Plaza, and direct access to I-25. That contrast is the whole appeal, and it's the specific thing the city's current spending is designed to protect rather than pave over.
If you're already living near this stretch of the canal, none of this probably changes your Tuesday evening walk. But if you're the kind of person who likes knowing why a place feels the way it does, now you know: the quiet is a line item in a budget, not an accident.
Hanh Chung works with buyers and sellers across Greenwood Village and the south metro, and pays attention to the kind of local detail that doesn't show up on a listing sheet. If a question about the neighborhood comes up, whether it's about the canal, a specific street, or what your home might be worth in the current market, feel free to reach out.
