GUNI Trail established

Residents of Niwot and Gunbarrel, long overlooked by the powers that be in Longmont and Boulder, have begun to do something about it.

The LOBO Trail, which reputedly runs from Longmont to Boulder and back, and seemingly uphill both ways, was named for LOngmont and BOulder. But you can't actually get all the way to Boulder from Longmont on a trail, as sections are incomplete as the "trail" makes its way through south Gunbarrel.

You can get from Longmont all the way to Niwot, and from Niwot to Lookout Road in Gunbarrel on actual trails, but when it comes to the stretch between Lookout Road and Jay Road where it reaches the Diagonal Highway, most of it requires walking, running or riding on the streets.

There is no actual mention of Niwot or Gunbarrel on signs along the LOBO trail, as all directional signs point to either Longmont or Boulder. Nor is there any mention of either community on the official Longmont to Boulder Trail Map found on the Boulder County website. But the map does note that a trail connection to Tom Watson Park behind the IBM property is "Opening Summer 2017."

The City of Boulder's website doesn't actually recognize the LOBO Trail, as a search for LOBO comes back, "There are no trails matching the search criteria."

As a result, local residents have decided to rename the stretch of the trail between Gunbarrel and Niwot the GUNI Trail, noting that it is, actually, a complete trail, but gets no respect.

"We've seen the movie, and we feel like the name fits," Gunbarrel resident Mikey Spielberg said. "We get over to Niwot for those concerts in the summer, so we know where it is. We might as well let all those bikers in spandex know that there's things to do there. Plus, we've got some pretty good restaurants here in Gunbarrel if the folks in Niwot are still missing Colterra."

Signs along the newly named trail should be installed by