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Summit County Open Space outlines 2025 trail work, notes rise in graffiti and new tracking system
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Summary
Open Space staff reported on 2025 trail projects — including the Blue River Trail reroute and bridge built with town crews, Baker’s Tank work, and about 30 trail maintenance sites — and said crews began using Survey123 to track work. Staff also flagged an uptick in graffiti and discussed capacity and burn operations.
Brad Kremske, an Open Space staff member, told the Summit County Open Space Advisory Council on Jan. 7 that the 2025 field season focused on several trail construction and repair projects across the county. He said the Blue River Trail reroute and a new bridge were completed in cooperation with the Town of Breckenridge and the Town of Blue River. The Baker’s Tank work was completed in phases by county and town crews with volunteer support, and staff established a trail connection between the new Laurium parking area and Laurium Road. Crews also addressed erosion and repairs at Barney Ford and made improvements at Snake River Bluffs and Summit Cove.
Kremske reported that crews performed standard maintenance on about 30 trails countywide and that volunteer projects this season included a countywide weed pull at the Swan River and SCRAP trails, barbed-wire removal at Doig Meadows, and tree thinning at Mesa Cortina. He noted staff have observed an increase in graffiti in recent years and said the crew logged routine maintenance alongside these volunteer projects.
New in 2025, Kremske said, crew members used Survey123 to record tasks and accomplishments. That data, he explained, allows the department to analyze where crew time is spent by basin, work type and asset type (for example trails, recpath or properties), which could inform reporting to the public or internal capacity planning.
Council members pressed staff on capacity and implementation. Paul Semmer asked about pile burning and what staff and outside resources are required; staff said Summit Fire and EMS and the Division of Fire Prevention and Control provide personnel and planning support when pile burning is implemented. Members also discussed public-facing reporting tools; the Town of Breckenridge’s use of an online Survey123 reporting portal has not produced an overwhelming number of user reports, staff said, which is a pro and a con when considering similar public reporting tools.
The council recorded these project updates as part of its regular review of open-space operations and volunteer programs.