As the summer motorized and mountain bike travel season begins Sunday in most areas on the White River National Forest, forest officials are alerting visitors to the likelihood of encountering roads and trails that are.
The White River National Forest has modified the Grizzly Creek Trail closure, opening the first two miles of the trail that were largely undamaged from last summer’s debris flows.
A small but beloved lake that is part of a guest ranch operating on the White River National Forest about 20 miles north of Rifle has nearly dried up and the ranchâs forest permit has expired.
The developments have caused the Forest Service to close access for now to the lake and surrounding area to protect public safety and property.
âWe understand Coulter Lake is a popular location, and our goal is to get the area open to the public as soon as we can,â Rifle District Ranger Kelsha Anderson said in a news release. âWe donât know exactly why the lake has no water, but we are working with partners to figure it out and the details related to there being no permitted operator.â
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The popular Coulter Lake area in the White River National Forest north of Rifle remains closed indefinitely because the lake itself is nearly dry and the adjoining guest lodge is without an operator.
Rifle District Ranger Kelsha Anderson said the agency hopes to reopen the lake area to the public as soon as possible.
For now, officials are still trying to figure out why the supply flow into the lake has been essentially cut off, she said.
“The depression creating Coulter Lake captures natural flow from the watershed and is subsidized by flow from springs and a ditch system, which does not appear to be functioning normally,” Anderson said Monday. “We are still working to determine why the system is not functioning.”