A plan for a trio of trails in the Vail area was announced by the U.S. Forest Service on Monday, and one of the new trails could be the first step in realizing a goal of the town of Vail’s 2018 Open Lands Plan.
A trail called the North Trail Vail connector near the Red Sandstone trailhead was proposed by, and would be constructed by Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance, the group’s executive director confirmed Monday. The connector would allow North Trail users to avoid a busy section of paved road, which they need to navigate in order to connect into the eastern portion of the North Trail system.
Forest Service District Ranger Leanne Veldhuis, in a letter published Monday, described the North Trail connector as an effort to reduce conflict between motorized and nonmotorized traffic on Red Sandstone Road.
“A soft-surface trail would be constructed between the paved Red Sandstone parking lot and (Red Sandstone Road) lower gate, providing a connection between existing segments of the North Vail Trail No. 1896,” Veldhuis said. “It would be constructed using sustainable trail design, open to hikers, bikers and stock users, and would have a seasonal wildlife closure from April 15-June 20 to coincide with the rest of the North Vail trail system.”
The connector has been contemplated in Vail since 2017-18, when it was included in town’s 2018 Open Lands Plan. At that time, it was already identified as a safer option for people looking to use the North Trail without diverting onto the paved surface of Red Sandstone Road, which sees many cars. And that was before they knew exactly how many cars they were talking about.
A 2021 trail counting effort on the dirt road portion of Red Sandstone Road tallied more than 50,000 vehicles from June 30 to Nov 30, said Vail Valley Mountain Trails Alliance Executive Director Ernest Saeger.
“And that’s after you turn off the paved road,” Saeger added.
Saeger said wildlife habitat fragmentation due to the creation of a new trail is a concern. If deemed feasible from a design and wildlife impact standpoint, the 2018 recommendation concluded that the trail will need to be somewhat close to Red Sandstone Road in order to minimize habitat fragmentation and impacts from trail use.
But even if a new trail were to be build “tight” to the road, Saeger said, the trails alliance still wanted to wait a few years to get seasonal wildlife closures under control on the North Trail before proposing any additions to the system. In 2017, a camera on a closed section of the North Trail caught more than 200 people violating the April 15 to June 20 trail closure, Saeger said.
New gates were installed to block access, and trailhead ambassadors started taking on volunteer shifts alongside those gates, explaining to would-be violators why the closure is in effect. The alliance started to see a drop in violations, with the volunteers making a major difference, Saeger said.
“In 2019, I think we had about 90 volunteer shifts that year. That same location with the same camera went from 217 violations down to 148 violations,“ Saeger said. “Not great, but going down.”
In 2021, with the trailhead ambassador program up to 330 volunteer shifts, the same camera at the same location of the North Trail recorded only 41 violations, Saeger said, and with confidence in their ability to continue to see that number reduced, the alliance proposed the Red Sandstone reroute.
Saeger is eager to hear what Forest Service commenters say about the Red Sandstone reroute.
“We tend to think it will be welcome just because it can get pretty dangerous on that road with all those cars, and people would rather avoid that with a more-direct trail,” Saeger said, adding, however, that if people are fine with it the way it is, “We want to hear that also; that’s what this is for.”
If approved, Saeger said the alliance will also likely, at a later date, suggest the addition of another section of singletrack for nonmotorized Red Sandstone users, which would take them to the top of the Son of Middle Creek Trail. The higher Red Sandstone Road alternative was also recommended in the 2018 Open Lands Plan.
Currently, mountain bikers commonly seek motorists to shuttle them up Red Sandstone Road to the top of the Son of Middle Creek Trail, as a bike ride up the road can be dusty, unsafe and unpleasant if there’s a lot of cars on the road.
Saeger said a future Red Sandstone Road alternative to the top of the Son of Middle Creek Trail could provide several desired outcomes if the new trail also reduces demand for vehicle shuttles up Red Sandstone Road.
And with use on the East Vail trails into the Eagles Nest Wilderness skyrocketing in recent years, and an effort underway to address the negative impacts of overcrowding, a way to loop the Son of Middle Creek Trail, without having to hike up Red Sandstone Road, could provide an alternative to those already busy trails in East Vail, Saeger said.
“Some of that use in East Vail would definitely be mitigated” through new options for hikers to avoid Red Sandstone Road, Saeger said.
Comments will be accepted any time, but will be most helpful if submitted prior to Feb. 7, Veldhuis said.
Electronic comments are encouraged and can be submitted online at FS.USDA.gov/project/?project=61186. Click on “comment” on the right side of the page.
Persons commenting should include: 1) name, address, telephone number and organization represented, if any; 2) title of the project of concern; and 3) specific facts, concerns or issues, and supporting reasons why they should be considered.
To request further information on the proposed action, contact Cal Orlowski by telephone at 970-618-4379 or by email at calen.orlowski@usda.gov.
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