The Gateway Segment of the Peaks to Plains Trail opened in 2021, adding more than two miles of paved path and hiking trail near the mouth of Clear Creek Canyon in Jefferson County. The hiking trail follows the trace of the former Welch Ditch, which skirted around Mount Zion (Lookout Mountain), sometimes in a hanging wooden flume. The small dam built to divert water into the Welch Ditch is adjacent to the East Clear Creek Canyon segment of the Peaks to Plains trail, which is currently under construction.

The Welch Ditch began diverting water from Clear Creek in 1871 and received a 26 cubic feet per second (cfs) water right. The ditch carried water to shareholders by winding through the Colorado School of Mines Campus, the current location of Fossil Trace Golf Course, and northward to carry water as far as the north side of South Table Mountain. The Welch Ditch water rights are currently diverted at other locations.