Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Summit County advisory council endorses access plan for Camp Hale monument, backs SUP management
Loading...
Summary
Summit County Open Space Advisory Council endorsed a Volpe Center access plan for the Camp Hale Continental Divide National Monument study area and recommended a special-use permit (SUP) be issued to the county to manage trailheads; the motion passed unanimously.
Summit County’s Open Space Advisory Council on March 5 endorsed an access plan for the southern Tenmile area of the Camp Hale Continental Divide National Monument and recommended that the county pursue a special‑use permit to manage trailheads in the study area.
Jordan Mead, a county staffer, presented the Volpe Center draft access plan, which catalogs crowded trailheads, social trails, multi‑owner parcels and limited amenities and provides phased infrastructure recommendations. The plan identifies improvements at Quandary Peak, Blue Lakes, McCullough Gulch and Spruce Creek trailheads and suggests the document could help inform a future NEPA review on federal land.
Recommendations for the Quandary Peak trailhead include paving and expanding the current dirt lot (about 60 existing vehicle spaces) to as many as 135 spaces, designated parking for McCullough Gulch, continued shuttle service, signage, a vault toilet and an information kiosk. The Blue Lakes recommendations call for a slight dirt‑lot expansion, delineated parking, a 22‑foot drive lane, sustainable system trails, improved wayfinding and restroom facilities. For McCullough Gulch the plan recommends establishing new parking at the shuttle turnaround and integrating spaces into an area‑wide reservation system while avoiding expansion of the lower trailhead due to wetlands, conservation easement terms and a stated preference to retain some less‑developed local access. Spruce Creek improvements would be implemented on USFS land and therefore are subject to NEPA, with an option to decommission the existing lot and build a lower lot in phases.
Sam Massman of the U.S. Forest Service said improvements could be phased and that additional USFS funding may be available next fiscal year. On partnerships, staff said a formal lease or agreement is expected with Colorado Springs Utilities for the Blue Lakes corridor if access improvements proceed.
Council members pressed staff on alternatives to paving, phasing and environmental constraints at specific sites. After discussion, OSAC member John Uban moved and Libby Pansing seconded a motion to endorse the plan and the SUP management alternative; the motion passed unanimously.
The endorsement does not itself authorize construction. Staff and agency partners said next steps include internal and stakeholder review, a comment period, coordination with the Board of County Commissioners and, where applicable, federal NEPA processes before any physical improvements occur. OSAC requested that staff provide prioritization criteria and phasing details as the plan advances.
Actions recorded: the council’s motion to endorse the access plan and the SUP management alternative was approved unanimously; staff will incorporate OSAC comments into subsequent reviews and coordinate next steps with federal and local partners.