Forest Service targets five areas for dispersed camping closures

USDA Forest Service
Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests
Pawnee National Grassland

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Forest Service targets five areas for dispersed camping closures

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – (May 13, 2021) Five undeveloped areas on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest will be temporarily closed to camping while the Forest explores more sustainable ways to manage these areas. While “dispersed” camping is generally allowed across most of the National Forest, it can have severe impacts, especially when occurring within 100 feet of streams.

Outside of developed campgrounds last summer, National Forest visitors created thousands of new campsites as they pulled off roads and damaged resources, trampling vegetation and compacting soils with tents, campers and vehicles. Visitors built hundreds of new rock campfire rings and negatively impacted municipal water supplies with human waste and trash. Working closely with local county officials, the Forest has targeted the following areas for temporary management changes while exploring long term solutions:

Vasquez Creek and Little Vasquez Creek

Located just south of the Town of Winter Park, Vasquez and Little Vasquez creeks serve as the drinking water supply for the town’s thousands of residents and guests. It is also a key access point to Winter Park’s famed mountain bike trail system. In recent years, Vasquez (FSR 156) and Little Vasquez (FSR 148), both narrow access roads to the Arapaho National Forest in this area, have become riddled with new visitor-created campsites, crammed between the road, the hillsides and the creek. There are no restroom facilities, trash receptacles or permanent campfire rings in this area. Public concern has been growing about the potential for a wildfire start from an escaped campfire. In addition, campers are impacting water quality by using the ground in this constricted drainage for their restroom. This temporary closure order will prohibit camping within a quarter-mile on either side of Vasquez and Little Vasquez for one year.

Maxwell Falls

Located southwest of Evergreen, the Maxwell Falls and Cub Creek trailheads are enormously popular launching points for a day hike through a dramatic canyon. This area also draws campers and late-night partiers who have campfires that are often left unextinguished. The proximity of residential neighborhoods at the top of the canyon walls and nearby put these communities at great risk of being impacted by an escaped campfire from below. In close coordination with local fire departments, the Jefferson County Sheriff and other local elected officials, the Forest has designated this area as “day use only” for the next five years. It is now prohibited to camp, have a campfire or be in the Maxwell Falls area between sundown and sunrise.

Rainbow Lakes Road

Located northwest of Nederland, Rainbow Lakes Road (FSR 116) serves two major trailheads (Sourdough and Rainbow) and a popular developed campground (Rainbow Lakes). Camping along the road has been steadily increasing, and last year the number of visitor-created campsites skyrocketed, creating an almost continuous line of trampled vegetation and visitor-built campfire rings along the Forest Service portions of road. Most of those campsites are located less than 100 feet from the North Boulder Creek, which is a primary source of drinking water for the City of Boulder. People camping for free along the road overwhelmed the concessionaire-managed campground at the end of the road by dumping trash and using its restrooms while cars parked along the road created emergency access issues. Camping will be prohibited within a quarter-mile of either side of the road for one year. Camping is still allowed in the campground and in the designated dispersed campsites at Caribou.

Ceran Saint Vrain

Located west of Jamestown, the Ceran Saint Vrain trail is popular with day hikers, mountain bikers and anglers. Along this 2-mile stretch of hiking trail, Forest Service staff identified more than 70 campsites created by visitors. Almost all the sites are located within 100 feet of the South Saint Vrain Creek. Trampled areas along the creek, along with human waste, are causing water quality issues in this area. Conflicts between day users who want to access the creek and campers trying to enjoy some privacy are common. Overcrowded parking at the trailhead creates emergency access issues and patrolling the 2-mile stretch of nonmotorized trail is challenging for law enforcement and the Forest’s limited crews. The area is plagued by unattended campfires and is surrounded uphill by private property. The limited size of the area doesn't support both overnight and day use opportunities. This prohibits camping within a quarter-mile of the creek for one year, allowing the forest to focus on the quality of the day-use experience while giving the area time to recover from previous overnight camping impacts.

Winiger Ridge

Located west of Gross Reservoir, Winiger Ridge provides 26 designated campsites with metal fire rings. Recently, visitors have been pushing closer to the reservoir, creating new campsites along County Road 68J/FSR 68.2B, which is a rough 4WD road that is very difficult for emergency services and firefighters to traverse. In many cases, campsites have been set up on private property due to the fragmented landownership of the area. Issues with unattended campfires, trash, resource damage from off-road driving and trespassing on private property have led to the decision to close this corridor to camping for two years while Forest staff focuses on providing higher quality sites along Winiger Ridge. Eventually, more designated sites may be added along Winiger Ridge to meet higher demand.

In addition to these areas, the Forest still has closures in place for the Williams Fork Fire, East Troublesome Fire and Cameron Peak Fire. As soon as the snow melts, Forest personnel will be focused on assessing and stabilizing the burned areas. These areas are expected to remain largely closed to the public until critical life-safety road and trail stabilization needs can be addressed.

Visitors should make sure to plan ahead and get the most accurate recreation information by checking the Forest’s Know Before You Go webpage. In addition to weather forecasts and road and trail conditions for the area, visitors should be sure to research how to find campsites, know how to properly store their food, and check whether campfires are allowed.