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Inventory finds 60+ miles of unauthorized trails on northern Colorado public lands; Boulder County mapped 26 locations
Summary
NoCoPlaces partners conducted a 2024 inventory of unauthorized trails across northern Front Range agencies. Boulder County’s contractor and staff mapped 26 sites and reported more than 60 miles of undesignated/unauthorized trail system-wide, with primary users identified as hikers (≈65%) and mountain bikers (≈25%).
Jared Roberts, Recreation and Facilities Division Manager for Boulder County Parks and Open Space, and contractor Nick Valencia (Trust Environmental LLC) presented results of a 2024 inventory of unauthorized or "illegal/unauthorized" trails done as part of the NoCoPlaces regional effort. The inventory aimed to create consistent, comparable data across multiple agencies to inform landscape-scale management.
Nick Valencia said the contracted inventory combined online research (open-source data and social platforms), GIS mapping and field verification. For Boulder County properties the contractor visited 26 distinct locations and documented linear features, point attributes (trash, signage, wildlife observations), and geo-referenced photos. "The total unauthorized trails we found across the participating agencies was 60-plus miles as of Dec. 31, 2024," Valencia said.
Roberts and Valencia described a four-class condition system the team used: Class 1 (emerging/recovering), Class 2 (low-impact), Class 3 (moderate use) and Class 4 (highly developed). The inventory also captured probable user groups by tread signatures; survey data assigned primary users as foot traffic (≈65%), mountain bikes (≈25%), motorized users (≈6%), with the remainder equestrian, fishing or climbing use.
Committee members asked how Boulder County will use the inventory. Roberts said the dataset will be used in two ways: (1) regionally through NoCoPlaces to identify cross-jurisdictional hotspots and compare trail footprints with high-priority wildlife and biodiversity areas, and (2) internally to help prioritize management responses. "Some trails will disappear on their own," Roberts said. "We need to determine where to spend limited staff and volunteer resources and where to target closures, signage or restoration." Nick added that some unauthorized trails already appear to be recovering and that the inventory is a snapshot intended to be repeated periodically.
Janice Wissman, Real Estate Division Manager, clarified that the inventory covered county fee-title lands and not private properties held under conservation easement, which the county monitors for easement compliance but does not map without landowner permission.
Public and committee members raised management questions and priorities: whether to pursue closures, restoration or formal designation of frequently used routes; coordination with adjacent land managers where trails cross jurisdictional boundaries; and how to incorporate public engagement. Roberts said staff will begin by adding the inventory into county GIS and will discuss prioritization and next steps internally and with NoCoPlaces partners.
Ending
The NoCoPlaces inventory provides a standardized baseline for agencies to identify unauthorized-trail hotspots and inform future management. Boulder County staff plan to integrate the dataset into GIS, seek internal prioritization and coordinate regionally; committee members recommended the county proceed without waiting for all partner agencies to finish their schedules.
