Vail was the setting for the annual Colorado Governor’s Tourism Conference last week, where Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the launch of a new state app providing guidance to more than 39,000 miles of trails in the state.
The Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) app puts data for 39,158 miles of trail and 1,431 trailheads in the hands of users across the state and is now available for free download in the Apple and Google Play stores. A facet of the Colorado the Beautiful initiative, the COTREX app makes it easier than ever for Coloradans and visitors alike to access the state’s trailheads and open space.
The three-day conference, co-sponsored by the Vail Valley Partnership, also featured keynotes from international destination marketing expert William Bakker and famed community activist and artist Candy Chang.
Embracing a theme of “COmmitted” in Vail, the town recently named the Most Sustainable Mountain Destination on earth, the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) this year worked with Walking Mountains Science Center to structure the event as the first zero-waste state tourism conference in the nation. Efforts ranged from conservation and reuse of materials to composting of food waste.
