Where does the paved Eagle Valley Trail end? Today the answer is somewhere in a construction zone along Highway 6 west of Wolcott. Next year, after a ribbon cutting that hasn't been scheduled yet, the answer will be Highway 131 at Wolcott, the junction at the foot of Red Sky Ranch. That will make the stretch of Eagle River just below the community's gate the last unfinished piece of a 63-mile trail that runs from Vail Pass to Dotsero.
This October, the trail and the river reach that point together. Trail crews have a few weeks left before they stop for winter. The river reopened to all-day fishing less than two weeks ago. Each part of the corridor has its own closing date over the next two months.
The River Came Back First
The Eagle River spent most of the summer under a voluntary fishing closure. The full-day closure began July 17 and ran from Lake Creek in Edwards downstream to the Colorado River, which takes in every bend below Red Sky Ranch. When Vail Daily reported the closure, flows were below half of normal. Daily high water temperatures had reached 74.5°F at Wolcott and 77°F at Gypsum. The shop guidance local guides use is to stop fishing once water passes 68°F, so the Wolcott reading was more than six degrees over that line.
On Sept. 23, 2026, Colorado Parks and Wildlife lifted the voluntary closures on the Eagle and Crystal rivers, effective immediately. The agency credited recent monsoonal rain and cooler water temperatures. Not every river in the region recovered. In the same announcement, CPW kept voluntary closures on parts of the Elk and Yampa rivers because water temperatures there were still high and flows extremely low.
The reopened river is still running very low. Cutthroat Anglers' Sept. 24 update put the flow at 145 cubic feet per second at Gypsum, with clear water unless it rains and water temperatures anywhere from the 50s to the 70s. The shop advised fishing early, carrying a thermometer, and stopping when the water goes over 68°F.
What October Fishing Looks Like on This Reach
A week later the reports were more positive. Fly Fishing Outfitters' Oct. 1 Eagle River report called the fishing very good, with low, clear conditions. It said the best window had moved to late morning through afternoon. In late September the advice was to fish early because of heat. By October the cooler mornings had moved the good fishing later into the day.
The same report lists what's working now:
- Blue-Winged Olives, especially on cloudy days
- October caddis, with chances for dry flies
- Streamers for pre-spawn brown trout
The brown trout spawn makes this stretch more fragile. With flows still very low, Fly Fishing Outfitters asks anglers not to walk through trout redds or deliberately target browns that are actively spawning. In low, clear water, gravel beds are easy to see from the bank and easy to step on by mistake. The fish that drew anglers back after Sept. 23 are the same ones laying next year's eggs.
Where the River Meets the Road
There are several public ways to reach the river within a short drive of Red Sky Ranch, and the two ends of the drive work very differently.
Heading downstream toward Eagle, Horn Ranch Open Space sits six miles east of Eagle on U.S. 6. Eagle County lists fishing as its most popular use, and the Eagle Valley Trail runs through it for walking and cycling. Mott's Landing, at the east end of Horn Ranch Open Space in Red Canyon, is the parking-area start of the trail's newest construction phase. The Horn Ranch Bridge crosses the Eagle River at that access point and opened at a ribbon cutting in 2019. Horn Ranch has no separate winter closure listed. The county's general rule keeps open space open from sunrise to sunset unless posted otherwise.
East of Red Canyon, the Bureau of Land Management's Wolcott Campground has a boat ramp on the Eagle River. Its operating season runs May 15 to November 15 each year.
Toward Edwards, Eagle County lists the Lake Creek Boat Ramp at 3000 Lake Creek Drive as a popular put-in and take-out for floats. The Eagle River Preserve is used for fishing and other non-motorized recreation. Miller Ranch Open Space in eastern Edwards also lists fishing among its common uses, but its north side is closed year-round to protect wildlife habitat.
The Order Things Close
Because each piece of the corridor runs on its own calendar, the next two months close down one step at a time:
- Early November, weather permitting. The Eagle Valley Trail's Oct. 1 update said construction between Horn Ranch and Wolcott would continue about another month before crews stop for winter.
- November 15. The Wolcott Campground boat ramp ends its season.
- December 1. The western portion of the Eagle River Preserve closes through April 15 to reduce conflicts between people and wildlife. The lower parking lot generally closes on the same date, and the upper lot stays open all year.
Eagle County notes that closure dates can shift with weather and animal behavior, so posted signs are the final word.
Highway 6 is worth checking before any morning trip. Eagle County's construction page listed a single-lane closure on U.S. 6 between mile markers 157 and 159, from Horn Ranch to Wolcott, with temporary signals from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. That page still shows an anticipated completion of July 31, 2026, a date that has passed while work continues. In its Oct. 1 update, the trail organization thanked drivers for their patience along Highway 6 and asked people to respect all closures and signs while work is active.
What Gets Built Next Year
The trail's own map puts the Horn Ranch to Highway 131 section at 2.4 miles. Building it meant working in a narrow strip between the river and the highway. When construction started, Vail Daily identified large retaining walls in that strip as a major engineering challenge. Eagle County's request for proposals for Phase 2 of this section projected work starting in spring 2026 and substantial completion by June 24, 2027. The trail organization has promised a ribbon cutting in 2027 and says it will announce the date once it's set.
Red Sky Golf Club has a June 2027 date of its own. Its dining page says public dinner service at Silver Sage, currently open for members-only dining, is scheduled to resume that month. Next June, the trail and the club are both scheduled to open more to the public.
The Gap That Starts at Wolcott
Once the Horn Ranch section is finished, the unbuilt part of the trail will begin at Wolcott. The trail's FAQ says that after the Horn Ranch to Highway 131 work, about five miles remain between Highway 131 and Edwards. The trail map splits that route into two legs, Highway 131 to a BLM fishing access at 2.7 miles and the BLM fishing access to Edwards at 3.8 miles. That adds up to 6.5 miles, more than the FAQ's figure, and the map lists costs for both legs as pending alignment. The FAQ gives no completion date and says timing depends on alignment, easements and construction costs.
Cost is a big part of that uncertainty. In March 2025, Vail Daily reported that estimates for finishing the full 7.5 miles from Horn Ranch to Edwards ran from $54 million to $64 million. The trail organization's Feb. 26, 2026 fundraising update said about $40 million had been secured against a $38 million goal. It also warned that rising costs meant continued support was still needed. Core Transit gave $3 million toward finishing the trail, a donation the county accepted in July 2025.
The route itself also isn't settled. In March 2025, Vail Daily reported that sending the trail through the proposed residential development at Wolcott might cost far less than building it alongside the highway. By the July 2025 groundbreaking, county project manager Kevin Sharkey said a route through the development probably wouldn't work because of timing. That left the north side of Highway 6 as the expected alternative at the time. Eagle County's page for that proposal, the Wolcott PUD at 28246 Highway 6, still lists its hearing dates as to be determined.
Until those questions are settled, the trail's newest section will end at Wolcott. The five or so unbuilt miles to Edwards follow the same stretch of river that just reopened to fishing, past the same banks where brown trout are spawning now.
The Griffin & Gardner team keeps a close eye on how changes along the Wolcott corridor play out for the communities above it. If you'd like to talk through what the trail's progress could mean for life at Red Sky Ranch, Let's Connect.
