On the High Line Canal, Cherry Hills Village Keeps Its Own Rulebook

The High Line Canal Trail follows the same ditch on both sides of the Cherry Hills Village line, but the rules change at the boundary. Inside the Village, e-bikes are not permitted, horses are, and the trail stays open until 11 p.m. Greenwood Village, on one side, allows Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes and closes at dusk. Denver, on the other, allows e-bikes and other e-devices but not horses. All three set the same 15 mph limit.

The Village stretch is more than a local quirk. It runs on a citywide ban on motorized vehicles that has been in place for years. A city commission has set its review for early 2027, so the current rules will cover this winter on the canal.

One Canal, Many Sets of Rules

The canal is a 71-mile ditch, mostly owned by Denver Water. It passes through a long string of cities and counties from Waterton Canyon in Douglas County to Aurora, according to The Denver Post. The High Line Canal Conservancy says the trail is open year-round, dawn to dusk, unless a local recreation agency sets other hours. It lists walking, nature viewing, bicycling, hiking, horseback riding and picnicking as uses.

Each city along the way still sets its own details. The Conservancy's Share the Canal page summarizes them by jurisdiction. Here is how the Village compares with its two neighbors on the canal and with Aurora, farther along:

On a late-November evening, Greenwood Village's dawn-to-dusk window has already closed while the Village segment stays open for hours. A rider on horseback coming from Greenwood Village can continue through the Village but has to stop at the Denver line. An e-bike rider coming from either side has to stop at the Village line.

The Village is not the only gap for e-bikes. They are also barred in Waterton Canyon at the western end of the trail, which the U.S. Forest Service treats as a non-motorized path, The Denver Post reported. Between Greenwood Village and Denver, though, the several miles inside Cherry Hills Village are the stretch where e-bikes have to stop.

The Rule Predates the Bikes

The Village never wrote a ban aimed at e-bikes. The city has prohibited all motorized vehicles on its trails for years, and e-bikes fall under that prohibition. City spokeswoman Denise White explained the reasoning to The Denver Post in August:

"The citywide rule reflects safety considerations on trails shared by pedestrians, bicyclists, children, pets and equestrians. Because e-bikes have motors, all classes of e-bikes fall within that prohibition."

The words "all classes" do the work. Class 1 e-bikes add power only while the rider pedals. Class 2 models provide power whether the rider pedals or not. Both top out at 20 mph. Class 3 bikes also need pedaling but assist up to 28 mph. Greenwood Village and Aurora draw their lines between classes. The Village draws its line at the motor itself.

The city repeated the rule in a recent news flash on e-bikes and e-motos: "E-bikes are not permitted on CHV trails or in City parks, except when being used by an individual with a disability for mobility assistance." That notice is mostly about a different vehicle. It warns that many electric dirt bikes and motorcycles are legally motor vehicles, with licensing, registration and insurance requirements.

The Conservancy's table lists only "Not permitted" for the Village. The mobility-assistance exception comes from the city itself, and White confirmed it to The Denver Post. This post reports the rules as the city and the Conservancy publish them. It is general information, not legal advice, so anyone unsure how the rule applies to their own bike or circumstances should check with the city directly.

The Signs Went Up, and So Did the Questions

The Denver Post found at least two "No e-bike" signs along the Village's stretch of the canal. Each one shows a red slash across a rider on a bike with an electric plug. One stands at the Dahlia Street High Line trailhead, where a longtime resident first noticed it in April.

The Post's August 11 story quoted longtime Village residents who want the rule changed. One said he had asked city leaders to reconsider the ban. Another, a resident of nearly three decades, argued that the posted 15 mph limit should govern the trail: "Simply have speed limits you enforce."

Pete Piccolo, executive director of Bicycle Colorado, made the same argument to the Post. "Trail conflicts are real," he said, but the issue is "speed and behavior, not the type of bike someone rides." A posted limit applies to every rider, he said, while a ban excludes a whole category of rider no matter how they ride.

The Post also reported how the rule is enforced. White said Cherry Hills Village police had not cited anyone for illegal e-bike use on the High Line Canal trail in the previous year, and that officers often give a warning for a first offense rather than a ticket.

Why Change Is Scheduled for 2027

White told the Post that the city's Parks, Trails and Recreation Commission planned to review e-bike regulations early next year. She described that review as possibly "the first step in determining whether the commission wishes to recommend any changes to the municipal code for City Council consideration."

The commission's own minutes show where the item sits. At its July 9, 2026 meeting, staff reviewed the draft 2027 Work Plan. "Reviewing Ebike and Emoto Regulations" carried over from the 2026 plan, and Manager Black said she hoped to begin it in early 2027. The same discussion shows the item competing with other work:

• a Trail Passport Program
• a Recreation Reimbursement Program
• activation of Volunteer Park
• a bike and pedestrian study, which staff recommended holding until the city's traffic study concludes

Chair Presecan asked whether taking on the e-bike and e-moto issue along with the reimbursement program was too heavy a lift. Black replied that the commission could handle both but suggested spacing them out across the year. Asked whether the traffic study might address e-bikes, she said it likely would not.

So the process has several steps. The commission reviews the rule in 2027, then decides whether to recommend anything, and only then would City Council consider a code change. Until that happens, the motorized-vehicle rule covers the Village's canal segment through the winter.

The Canal Corridor Keeps Changing Around the Rule

Several projects are changing the Village's stretch of the corridor this season and next.

At mile 34, Cherry Hills Village finished a pedestrian bridge in summer 2026 that connects Quincy Farm to the canal south of Quincy Avenue. The farm pond beside the canal was dredged in fall 2025 and replanted in spring 2026, and the Conservancy describes it as a spot for wildlife viewing. At mile 33, the Conservancy lists the Village's irrigation extension and tree planting as continuing in spring 2027. That plan covers the canal from Belleview Avenue to Hampden Avenue and includes more than 500 new trees.

Tree-canopy work is ongoing along the whole canal, and the Conservancy notes that some places may need temporary trail closures. Its trail notices page links to a current closure map.

Getting to the trail can involve road work too. Xcel Energy is upgrading overhead power lines along Colorado Boulevard between Quincy and Mansfield avenues and along East Mansfield Avenue. Traffic control runs as needed between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and the city expects the work to continue through January 2027, according to a city notice.

Inside the Village, the Conservancy's etiquette guidance applies as it does everywhere else on the canal. Equestrians have the right of way, cyclists yield to pedestrians, and everyone stays at 15 mph unless signs say otherwise. The Village's own city contact for trail questions is Parks, Trail and Recreation at 303-783-2744.

If you own near the canal, Charles Ward can explain how canal access and the corridor's 2027 improvements figure into what your property is worth today. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation.