Colorado Springs purchased the Red Rock Canyon area in 2003. The area, south of Garden of the Gods, with similar, though less dramatic, rock formations, has many great hiking and biking trails. While Friends of Red Rock Canyon are very active in working to maintain and improve trails and areas these days, in the early days of the open space, Friends of the Peak did some restoration work there and also built two trails. In 2005, as a substitute for a project on Ring the Peak when the snow at 10,000 feet did not melt in time, Friends of the Peak helped reclaim an old gravel pit. In 2006, Friends of the Peak, with Trails and Open Space Coalition and Wild Oats, constructed the trail connecting the then new parking lot on 31st Street for the open space with the main trail system and what later became the secondary parking lot off the main lot from U.S. 24. Then in 2007, Friends of the Peak constructed a middle segment of the Round Up trail, connecting the two existing sections. Here are maps of the trails in Red Rock: CS Parks and Rec map and Friends of Red Rock Canyon map. CS Parks and Rec has more information.
Colorado Springs purchased Manitou Section 16 using TOPS money. Section 16, along with White Acres, another open space purchase, both became part of Red Rock Canyon Open Space. In 2013, Friends of the Peak joined with several other organizations for a CS Parks and Rec project on National Trails Day to build a connector trail in the Section 16 part of Red Rock to connect the Section 16 trails to the new Ridgeline Trail.
