City Working on Palisades Canyon Trailhead Design

The City of El Paso held a public charrette last month detailing three different options for developing a trailhead at the entrance to Palisades Canyon on the city’s West Side. The City will use funds from the 2012 Quality of Life bonds approved by voters to develop the trailhead.

This concept image shows a seating area located at the trailhead at Palisades Canyon. (Public Service Board)

Palisades Canyon is a 202-acre natural, open-space park sandwiched between Crazy Cat Mountain and the taller peaks of the Franklin Mountains, off of Robinson Avenue. The park contains approximately 4.5 miles of trails.

The new trailhead will be located where Robinson Avenue takes a turn southward, prior to becoming Scenic Drive. About $300,000 has been designated for the project and includes parking areas, retaining walls, trash receptacles, benches, landscaping, kiosks, and signage.

One of the trailhead designs includes a roundabout at Robinson Avenue. (Public Service Board)

The first design option includes a possible roundabout that would take vehicular traffic onto a drive leading to a parking area which would be located east of Robinson Avenue. The second design concentrates construction on the area immediately adjacent to Robinson Avenue with a small parking lot parallel to the street. The third design is similar, locating the parking area along Robinson but across the street from the trailhead.

The 202-acre property is located north and east of Crazy Cat Mountain.

The City’s Public Service Board (PSB) purchased the property in 2010 for $2.5 million from a private owner, to help ensure the land’s preservation. The design will also consider storm water runoff from the mountain slopes and includes a sediment basin as part of the schematics.

The PSB and Open Space Advisory Board are working on a final design.