On any given Saturday, the parking lot at Rainbow Falls off Colorado Highway 67 is packed. It’s one of the most popular staging grounds in the area for one of the most popular outdoor sports in the country – motorized recreation.
ATVs and dirt bikes are two of the most popular ways to get into the forest – in some parts of Colorado last year, nearly 50 percent of the people on trails were on some kind of motorized vehicle.
And all that use has taken its toll. That’s why the Pikes Peak District of the U.S. Forest Service is working on a plan to determine which roads and trails are necessary, functional and sustainable in the South Rampart area of the Pike National Forest.
The district published a motor vehicle use map in February and since then, has been gathering comments on the designated roads and trails it includes. Several public meetings have already taken place. I wrote about the past meetings in the Colorado Springs Independent in July and interviewed both motorized fans and those who want more areas closed to motorized travel.
Two more meetings are scheduled this week – 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at Woodland Park Middle School, 600 E. Kelly Road, Woodland Park, and 6-8 p.m.Thursday at the Colorado Springs Utilities Leon Young Service Center, 1521 Hancock Expressway.
Those who attend will be able to ask questions about the plan, make suggestions, and see the existing map. For more information, call 636-1602.
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