Poudre River Trail Bike Ride
Did you know 880 oil & gas wells have been drilled within one mile of the Cache la Poudre River, including some of Colorado’s largest oil & gas pads with 50+ wells?
On Saturday March 21st at 10:00am, together with the Fort Collins Sustainability Group and others, we’ll be leading an educational bike ride along the Cache la Poudre River between Windsor and Greeley. We’ll stop to observe the impacts of oil & gas facilities and the proposed GlobalAI data center on this riparian corridor, and the wildlife and residents that calls this area home.
We’ll meet at WeldWerks Brewing Co in Greeley afterwards to mingle, discuss, and brainstorm opportunities for action. Visit the RSVP link below for more details, including route maps. We’d love for you to join us at this family-friendly event!
River Ride Start
We’ll start our ride at the Kodak Trailhead Poudre River Trail in Windsor. ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/VjKePnZLPSp5JzUF6 )
For those joining us for the short route (see below), we’ll return to the Kodak Trailhead after making our first stop. We’ll guide the remaining riders along the Cache la Poudre river to view some of Colorado’s largest oil & gas pads with over 50 wells, ending at WeldWerks Brewing Co in Greeley.
The Short Route (4 miles)
We will be leaving the Kodak Trailhead promptly at 10:30am for a 1.9 mile bike ride to a viewpoint just south of several large oil & gas locations, the Halliburton Sand Plant, and the proposed GlobalAI data center. After a short presentation and discussion, join us on the return ride to the trailhead. Join us at WeldWerks Brewing Co in Greeley for lunch and a discussion about the impact of oil & gas infrastructure on our riparian areas.
The Long Route (15 miles)
For the more adventurous (or those with an e-bike), we will continue along the Poudre Trail for another 13 miles to WeldWerks Brewing Co in Greeley, with additional stops along the way to talk about notable natural and oil & gas sites.
About The Cache la Poudre River
The Cache la Poudre River, Colorado’s first National Wild and Scenic River (1986), flows 125 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park eastward to the Platte, providing critical water and recreation for Northern Colorado.
The Poudre River Trail stretches over 40 miles between Fort Collins and Greeley, offering a scenic corridor through Weld County’s agricultural heartland for cyclists, runners, and nature enthusiasts.
Yet this recreational landscape sits within one of Colorado’s most active oil and gas zones.
881 oil & gas wells have been drilled within one mile of the Cache la Poudre River:
- 469 are still producing (or capable of producing) oil & natural gas.
- 410 wells that have been plugged and abandoned.
- 128 reported oil spills in the last 10 years, which have released oil, condensate, and produced water into the soil and toxics into the air. Of these, 59% were identified as historical releases, and 41% as recent spills.
Trail users often pass near active well sites, tank batteries, and pipelines, a collision between riparian corridors and oil & gas extraction in the Denver-Julesberg Basin.