Serpents Trail
About this property
The Serpents Trail, also known as the Trail of the Serpents and the Serpentine Trail, is a trail within the Colorado National Monument in Mesa County, Colorado, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The trail was built by the visionary John Otto, who began the campaign to establish the national monument. The trail was, in fact, a road from Grand Junction through No Thoroughfare Canyon to the rimrock near Cold Shivers Point, with an elevation gain of nearly 1,100 feet (340 m) over 2.5 miles (4.0 km). From Cold Shivers Point the road proceeded at a gentler grade for 4 miles (6.4 km) to Glade Park. Otto began his survey in 1911 with the help of civil engineer J.F. Sleeper. Otto's grand plan was to link Grand Junction to Moab, Utah by a scenic road to be part of a transcontinental road system. Construction began in 1912 and continued sporadically to 1921, when Mesa County took the project over. Engineer J.B. Claybaugh completed the project in 1924. The construction of the Rim Rock Drive destroyed portions of the Serpents Trail. A 1.6-mile (2.6 km) portion has been preserved as a hiking trail. During the 1930s the Park Service considered upgrading the trail to a higher standard of road, but dropped the project. Only the relatively gentle upper section of the trail was incorporated into Rim Rock Drive in 1939–40. The trail was added to the National Register of Historic Places April 21, 1994 National Register of Historic Places listings in Colorado National Monument National Register of Historic Places listings in Mesa County, Colorado Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CO-28, "Trail of the Serpent, .4 miles from East Entrance, Grand Junction vicinity, Mesa County, CO", 9 photos, 2 data pages, 1 photo caption page Photographs of the Serpent's Trail at the National Park Service's NRHP database
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Serpents Trail
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Questions about this property
When was Serpents Trail listed on the National Register?
Serpents Trail was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 20, 1994.
What type of historic resource is Serpents Trail?
Serpents Trail is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Serpents Trail?
The period of significance for Serpents Trail is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Serpents Trail?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Serpents Trail will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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An Aubrey US report for an address near Serpents Trail will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.