Flagstaff plan narrows proposed trail mileage on Observatory Mesa after four years of public input

City of Flagstaff open‑space staff and consultants presented a revised Observatory Mesa area trail plan May 13 that reduces proposed new trail mileage and lays out phased adoption and restoration steps; staff said they will return to council in June with a resolution asking for formal adoption and then seek Arizona State Parks review under the property’s conservation easement.

Robert Wallace, open‑space program staff, said the city purchased the four sections that comprise Observatory Mesa with bond match funds and a Growing Smarter grant; the purchase included a conservation easement held by Arizona State Parks that requires the property be retained for conservation with recreational access. Wallace said staff consulted Arizona State Parks and Coconino National Forest while developing the plan and believes the revised concept fits within the deed’s restrictions.

Mark Loeseth, the project consultant, outlined a public process that ran in phases and produced three principal themes from more than 3,400 comments: (1) neighborhood impacts and parking, (2) trail‑user experience and desire for looped opportunities, and (3) wildlife and habitat protection, especially around springs. He said the plan was reduced from a draft showing about 26 miles of proposed new trails to a version with roughly 18 miles after public input and additional habitat buffering.

What staff propose: a phased implementation that focuses first on high‑use loops nearest neighborhoods, adds longer routes and two trailheads in a second phase, and then restores unauthorized roads and trails in later phases. The plan adds larger buffers around springs (from 1,000 feet to 1,320 feet), removes two proposed access points to respect private property, and preserves road segments for administrative or nonmotorized use. Wallace said the plan would result in a net increase of roughly 5.5 miles of managed recreational trail across city and Forest Service lands but would restore about 11 acres more land than it develops.

Public reaction at the meeting ranged from support to opposition. Martos Hoffman, a long‑time user and participant in the planning process, said the plan “is a balanced plan that they’ve come up with” and praised the multi‑use approach. By contrast, some commissioners and commenters warned that additional formal trails could create long‑term pressure on the conservation values the deed was intended to protect. Open Space Commissioner Mary Norton said she voted no at the commission level but supported the plan as a commission recommendation, calling it “a compromise” and urging the city not to market the area as a destination to avoid overtourism.

Technical details and next steps: staff reported current use estimates of 20,000–30,000 visits per year on Mars Hill and Railroad Springs and said only 5.8 miles of trail on the mesa are currently formal and maintained; they identified more than 15 miles of unauthorized user‑created routes and about 27 miles of track and access roads. The plan calls for two education zones near Foote’s/ Mars Hill and Railroad Springs for school visits and interpretation and includes three proposed mileages of mountain‑bike‑optimized alignments (about 3.0 miles total) and select adaptive‑access trails designed at a wider width for hand cycles and other adaptive equipment.

Wallace said staff will return to council with a resolution on June 3 and then present the plan to the Arizona State Parks and Trails Board and the Forest Service for permit and clearing reviews. Implementation funding is identified in the open‑space capital plan starting in fiscal year 2028–29; staff said they will seek grant matches and interagency agreements before construction.

Ending: Council members and the public repeatedly thanked the Open Space Commission and staff for a multi‑year, open process; staff asked council for any feedback to refine the draft before the planned June resolution request.