A little community in northwest Colorado is determined to realize its vision of a whitewater park as the “cornerstone” of a tourism hub that would usher in a bright new economic era.
According to Melanie Kilpatrick, that is why the Yampa River Corridor Project is so crucial to the communities of Craig and Moffat County. Kilpatrick has been the town’s project manager for the past three years.
Great Outdoors Colorado, a nonprofit organization, just donated $600,000 to the project. Kilpatrick stated that the funds would be used to construct things like trails, parking lots, picnic shelters, and bathrooms that are outlined in the project’s blueprint.
The objective is to make a social hub that is closer than 2 kilometers to Craig’s commercial core. Early in the season, families may come to see rafts float down the Yampa River, while later in the summer, they may come to see smaller craft, such stand-up paddleboards, float down the river. An artificial rock formation that serves as a fish passage and tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, downstream at Loudy-Simpson Park, a new road, boat ramp, and other amenities will be built. Kilpatrick outlined the overarching plan to make a more approachable area close to town in the hopes of luring visitors to continue their exploration of Little Yampa Canyon.
She claimed she had been planning to do so for about a decade. Before local government got involved in costly, in-depth designing and engineering, the idea was kicked off by an organization called the Northwest Colorado Chapter of Parrotheads.
Craig and Moffat County joined together with other organizations in 2020 to seek for a $3.3 million federal grant, a number Kilpatrick described as “new territory” for her community and a crucial portion of the almost $5 million project. That funding came from the Assistance to Coal Communities initiative of the Economic Development Administration.
Kilpatrick said the squad is currently in a “waiting game” for several permits. She mentioned that the team has been discussing the potential effects of the drought on the whitewater park.
With a possible opening in 2024, she expected construction to begin this fall.
Kilpatrick said the day may represent something bigger for the region, referencing the project’s dozen or so local, state, and federal funders.
