Ask someone in Severance about the Great Western Trail and they'll tell you they've done it. Ask which direction, and the conversation usually stalls. Most people mean the stretch toward Windsor, the one with sidewalks nearby and a familiar park at the far end. Almost nobody means the other half, the 7.5 miles that run east into open farmland toward Eaton. Both belong to the same trail. They are not the same trip.
That split matters more than it sounds like it should, because the two directions out of Severance were built at different times, serve different purposes, and reward completely different kinds of afternoons. Treating the Great Western Trail as one continuous 10.5-mile line, the way most casual descriptions do, means most residents are only using half of what's actually there.
One Trailhead, Two Different Rides
The trail runs through the center of Severance, which puts the town at the hinge point of the whole route rather than at either end. From here, one direction heads southwest about three miles to Windsor. The other curves east and runs 7.5 miles through farmland to Cheyenne Avenue in Eaton. Parking at the Severance Trailhead, accessed off 2nd Avenue, sits right at that hinge, which means every ride or walk from town starts with a choice, not a default.
The whole corridor follows the old Great Western Railroad grade, a rail line laid in the early 1900s to move sugar beets across Weld, Larimer, and Boulder counties. The trail preserves that right-of-way under the federal railbanking provisions of the National Trails System Act, which is why the grade stays gentle and the surface stays consistent no matter which direction you pick. It's a wide, soft crusher-fines aggregate the whole way, built for walking, running, biking, and in winter, cross-country skiing.
South Toward Windsor: The Suburban Half
Head southwest from the Severance Trailhead and the farmland gives way fairly quickly to the edges of Windsor's own trail network. The Great Western Trail connects directly to that system near Village East Park, which has a playground and sits close to the trestle where the trail crosses an irrigation ditch at Windsor's northeastern edge.
From there, the ride doesn't have to stop. The corridor links up with Windsor Lake, which has a swim beach and a perimeter trail of its own, and on-street bike lanes extend the route further toward the Poudre River Trail. This is the version of the Great Western Trail that shows up in most casual mentions, because it's the version that connects to something residents already recognize. It's also the shorter half by more than double.
The rail bed under your feet once hauled sugar beets, not commuters. Weld County's beet industry is the reason this grade exists at all.
East Toward Eaton: The Farm Half
The other direction gets less credit and covers more ground. Heading east from Severance, the trail runs 7.5 miles through open agricultural land, passing several lakes and crossing Roulard Lake before reaching Cheyenne Avenue in Eaton. There's no suburban buildup waiting at the far end, no adjacent neighborhood trail system to fold into. What's there instead is the Eaton Recreation Center, which has restrooms and a drinking fountain in its north parking lot, right next to the trail off County Road 35.
This half rewards a different kind of trip. It's the section for people who want distance and open sky rather than a destination park, and it's the section most Severance residents have never actually finished, because it doesn't dead-end anywhere convenient. The Eaton Trailhead at Cheyenne Avenue and 5th Street has street parking and a vacant lot for overflow, but getting there on foot or by bike means committing to the full 7.5 miles first.
| Toward Windsor | Toward Eaton | |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from Severance | About 3 miles | 7.5 miles |
| Surroundings | Farmland transitioning to Windsor's neighborhoods | Open agricultural land, several lakes |
| What's at the end | Village East Park, Windsor Lake, on-street link to Poudre River Trail | Eaton Recreation Center, restrooms, drinking fountain |
| Parking | Street parking on Kendalbrook Drive and Brookvale Drive | Eaton Trailhead at Cheyenne Ave and 5th St |
| Best for | A shorter loop with a built-in destination | Distance, quiet, and farmland views |
The One Saturday a Year the Whole 10.5 Miles Becomes One Event
Most of the year, the two halves function as separate trips taken by separate kinds of trail users. That changes once a year with the Great Western Trail Race, held every April and most recently run on April 18, 2026. The race offers a 5k, 10k, and half marathon along with a kids' fun run, on a course described as mostly flat and fast, with views of Longs Peak and the Rockies from the crushed gravel surface. Finishers get a race shirt, and proceeds have gone to a list of local nonprofits that includes Severance Middle School and the Windsor Community Foundation.
For one morning, the corridor stops being two separate rides and becomes a single shared course, with runners moving through both the suburban stretch and the farmland stretch back to back. It's the closest thing Severance has to a citywide reminder that the trail is one continuous asset rather than two disconnected halves.
Where the Trail Spits You Out
The reward for finishing either direction sits back in Severance itself, at the hinge point where both halves meet. Bruce's Bar has anchored that spot since 1959, when owner Bruce Ruth started serving the Rocky Mountain oysters the place is still known for statewide. The bar's motto, where the geese fly and the bulls cry, gives a fair sense of what to expect on the menu and in the room, and it still leases out goose hunting spots during the season.
A short distance away, Vecinos Mexican Grill and Tecate Grill on Mahogany Way both draw a steady local following, with Tuesday specials that regulars plan their week around. None of these are destination restaurants in the sense of drawing visitors from outside the area. They're neighborhood rooms that happen to sit exactly where a tired trail user would want to land.
Two Detours Worth Knowing About
If the trail itself isn't the whole afternoon, two nearby stops round it out. The Windsor-Severance Fire Museum holds firefighting memorabilia and three antique fire trucks, a small but genuine piece of local history a couple of miles south. Windsor Reservoir, two miles west of town, is a recognized stop on the Colorado Birding Trail, known for ducks and gulls even though it's a privately owned lake with no hunting allowed.
For anyone thinking about turning a trail day into a full weekend, Boyd Lake State Park has the closest real camping, about 25 minutes away, with 148 paved sites split between RV and tent camping. It's not walkable from Severance, but it's close enough to pair with a Saturday morning on the trail without much planning.
The Version Worth Knowing
The Great Western Trail earns its name because it's one continuous corridor, but living near it means understanding it as two different commitments. The short version toward Windsor is the one most people already know, built for a quick loop with a lake at the end. The long version toward Eaton asks more and gives back farmland, lake crossings, and a rec center that marks the turnaround point rather than a destination. Knowing which one you're choosing, and why, is the difference between a resident who uses the trail and one who's only ever tried half of it.
If you're weighing what a home near this kind of trail access actually means for your plans in Severance or anywhere else in Northern Colorado, Venna Hillman knows this corridor and the towns it runs through well enough to talk through it honestly. Get Your Instant Home Valuation whenever you're ready to see where you stand.
