Best Missing Link

When this thirteen-mile stretch of urban trail opened to the public last summer -- amid cheers from outdoor enthusiasts -- it marked the completion of a fifty-mile loop in the northeast metro area by connecting the Highline Canal in Aurora to the Platte River Greenway in Commerce City. Now you can take the grand tour: Open to anyone or anything without a motor, the spanking new trail hightails it through the old Stapleton Airport; the lazy cottonwood groves and wetlands along its stretch provide homes to all manner of wildlife, such as mule deer, foxes and waterfowl, not to mention a fine swath of good old peace and quiet. Future trail development includes plans for parks, preserved wildlife habitats, interpretive markers and other backcountry amenities. What a way to go.