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Routt County staff to submit petition asking state parks to allow $2 day‑pass fee to fund road access maintenance
Summary
Routt County staff said they will file a May 31 petition asking the Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission to permit a $2 per-vehicle day‑pass surcharge at state parks that directly access county roads to fund road maintenance.
County staff said on May 19 they will submit a petition under the Keep Colorado Wild program asking the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) commission to allow a $2 fee on day passes at state parks that directly access county roads.
“This petition is due on May 31,” CPW representative Mike Morty said. He said the petition, if accepted for hearing by CPW, would be defended before the commission in August and, if approved, the county could begin collecting the fee on Jan. 1, 2026. Morty said the fee would apply to day passes only and not to license plate registrations.
Morty told commissioners he documented accesses and visitor counts for Routt County parks and that county parks together receive about 1.1 million to 1.2 million visitors annually, using 2022–2024 data. County staff included maps, photos of park entrances and park-manager endorsements with the petition. He added that the petition requests adding Yampa River State Park so management of fees is consistent among local parks.
Officials discussed projected revenue and use. One participant noted an anticipated county share of roughly $28,000 annually for the county’s accesses; staff said the petition language limits how funds may be used and that money must be spent on access-related maintenance rather than unrelated county facilities. Commissioners said even that modest amount could help offset rising costs for mag chloride and other road treatments.
Commissioners present expressed support for submitting the petition after staff finalizes wording and grammar checks; the petition was not yet submitted at the time of the meeting. The county manager said staff would delay submission until after the holiday weekend to allow final reviews and to incorporate any commissioner feedback.
The county noted questions raised in the meeting about specific park visitor counts (for example, Elkhead Reservoir’s figures) and said staff would verify numbers before final submission.
