Photo Feature: Lori Cohen Memorial Trail Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

On Oct. 1, the UCCS community celebrated the official opening of the Lori Cohen Memorial Trail.

This new trail is the first donor-funded and endowed trail on the UCCS campus. The trail will allow the community to enjoy the outdoors in an unexplored area of campus while honoring the legacy of Lori Cohen.

To access the trail, park in Lot 580 and begin at the Lori Cohen Memorial Trail sign. The five-kilometer trail loops around the Heller Center for Arts & Humanities on the west edge of the UCCS campus.

Event speakers included Chancellor Venkat Reddy, Skyler Rorabaugh, Director of Campus Recreation, Karen Palus, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services for the City of Colorado Springs, and Evan Graff, UCCS student and cross country team member.

Cohen passed away Oct. 4, 2014 after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer. Upon her passing, the Lori Cohen Charitable Trust was established to improve the arts and trails community throughout Colorado Springs. Cohen loved both the outdoors and the arts.

This year marks seven years since Cohen’s passing, and the Lori Cohen Charitable Trust continues to give back to the community in Cohen’s honor by improving trails punctuated with benches that include “What a Perfect Day,” Cohen’s favorite expression. Cohen’s legacy lives on at UCCS with the creation of the Lori Cohen Memorial Trail and the Cohen Endowment to maintain the trail.

See below for photos from the event. Photo credit: Jeffrey M. Foster and Gabby Hensley.

The Lori Cohen Memorial Trail sign includes Cohen’s favorite expression, “What a Perfect Day.”

Skyler Rorabaugh, Director of Campus Recreation, welcomed guests to the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Chancellor Reddy shared how grateful the campus community is for Lori Cohen and her legacy.

Karen Palus, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services for the City of Colorado Springs, spoke of the partnership with UCCS and several trail segments on campus that tie into the City of Colorado Springs Austin Bluffs Open Space trails and commuter routes.

The event speakers, along with Jeff Tarbet and Tom Kay, Trustees of the Lori Cohen Charitable Trust, formally cut the ribbon marking the trailhead.

Chancellor Reddy poses for a photo with Jeff Tarbet and Tom Kay, Trustees of the Lori Cohen Charitable Trust.

After the official program ended, guests were invited to walk and bike the Lori Cohen Memorial Trail for the first time.

Planned Future Trails

UCCS’s trails system provides usable trails for the campus community and the public to enjoy. Campus Recreation has three new trails in development, including the Trembley Property, Pulpit Rock Connector and the ROTC Trail.

To learn more about the development of these trails and how you can support the creation of the trails, contact Beau Kelly, Director of Development at 719-255-5106 or email [email protected].