Rocky Mountain National Park is considering allowing cycling on a two-mile section of the East Shore Trail near Grand Lake, CO. Citizens may comment in person at either of two public meetings: one in Grand Lake on February 11 and one in Boulder on February 24. They are also taking public comment via their website until March 3.
If you favor the idea of being allowed to ride this Colorado gem, click here for some helpful guidelines for providing comment.
Two miles? Talk about a tiny foothold for advocacy! Sheez…
Yeah… and the Grand Lake side is not very accessible. You’ll drive past all the amazing MTB trails in the Winter Park area before you get there. 🙂
This has been my exact thoughts all along. They’ve been working on this for years!
However, what if Rocky Mountain National Park is using this as a tester, to see if it will be viable for other trails? And what if other parks continue this trend?
I’m optimistically hoping that this is just the tip of the iceberg…
Fingers crossed that you’re right Greg.
Yeah, I think its important to take a long-term view here.
The short trail segment thing is actually kind of important. There are a number of places where great trails outside NPs dip into the park briefly, rendering the whole route nonviable for biking. If we can have success with two miles, then why not complete the Maah Daah Hey as it cuts through Teddy Roosevelt National Park, or even trails that detour briefly into the more remote parts of Yellowstone?
This is just a small part of a larger plan for the East Shore Trail. If approved, the next leg is nearly 4.5 miles in the Park and that will connect to a trail in the USFS that continues for an additional 6.5 miles. Total ride will be +/- 13 miles along Shadow Mtn Lake, the Colorado River and Lake Granby.
This two miles is the most important, without it the rest of the trail is just a dream. Let’s hope it is approved.
And yet there’s still opposition: http://www.collegian.com/2014/02/rocky-mountain-national-park-should-keep-bikes-out/61697/
I like how he compares mountain bikes to a hotel… yeah, it’s pretty much the same thing.
To be honest, this doesn’t really surprise me. People have this idea stuck in their heads that bikes cause more damage, even though it isn’t true. Until that thought becomes the minority rather than the majority we will continue to wage this war.
It is more valid to compare bikes to boots since studies show the impacts to be similar. If one doesn’t belong in the back country, neither does the other.
Since the author chose to quote Edward Abbey, I will as well:
“A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourists can in a hundred miles.” — Edward Abbey
I like how he talks about this trail like it is in the middle of nowhere. It is located along a lake that has motorized boats on it. There are houses across the lake. It is so far from a wilderness experience. There will always be opposition. Make sure to post comments, we need as many positive comments as possible.
@skibum , Awesome comeback quotation!
I don’t really understand how to make a “public comment” on their website. The only contact I think I can make is an e-mail. Also, the link on IMBA leads to a dead page.