Gore Valley Trail interpretive installation makes summer debut
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily archive
Next time you’re pedaling or strolling along the Gore Valley Trail, keep your eyes peeled — you might spot a bronze animal peeking out from the rocks.
A new series of educational installations is making its summer debut along the rec path, stretching from the East Vail I-70 Interchange to Donovan Park. The eight-exhibit project quietly wrapped up last October, but now, with longer days and trail traffic picking up, it’s ready for its moment in the sun.
The Gore Valley Trail interpretive installation is designed to enhance the trail users’ experience of the natural environment along Gore Creek. Each exhibit draws attention to key elements of the creekside ecosystem, offering insight into the natural processes at work and the role humans play in sustaining them.
Sponsored by the town of Vail and designed by the firm Howard+Revis Design, the installation is part of the Restore the Gore program. Each exhibit focuses on a specific aspect of creek ecology and stream restoration. Life-sized, or larger-than-life, bronze sculptures of native animals illustrate different themes, while several sites also have interactive elements, including spotting scopes and viewing tubes to direct the visitor’s attention to the environment around them.
“The exhibits were designed to draw attention and pique the curiosity of trail users, while blending seamlessly with the environment and not distracting from the natural setting by using neutral colors and native materials like river rock,” said Peter Wadden, the town of Vail’s watershed health specialist.
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Five of the eight sites prominently feature large gabion boulders filled with river cobble. Other exhibits incorporate railing wraps, or mimic tablecloths, on existing picnic tables to tell the story of the feeding relationships and energy flow within the creek ecosystem. Spanish translation of all exhibits is available via QR code.
