Kaya Williams: Smiles per hour and the summer of S'mass aspentimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspentimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
4 Expert-Level Colorado Trail Running Loops 5280.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 5280.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Conundrum Hot Springs are a popular hiking destination near Aspen. It is a 8.5-mile hike from the trail ahead to the springs, which sit at 11,222 feet. (David Krause/The Aspen Times)
A permit and reservation system proposed on the popular Four Pass Loop near Aspen isn’t expected to reduce the overall number of backpackers, but it will spread them out to more manageable levels, according to White River National Forest officials.
The U.S. Forest Service announced earlier this month it will pursue a reservation and permit system with a fee for the Four Pass Loop, probably starting next summer. The 26-mile loop covers some of the most stunning terrain in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. The proposed fee is $12 per person per night.
USFS/courtesy photo
Backpackers will have to pay for overnight visits to the most popular places in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness starting next summer under a plan eyed by the White River National Forest.
The U.S. Forest Service unveiled a proposal Thursday to implement a reservation and permit system with a fee of $12 per person per night for the Four Pass Loop, the Capitol Lake area and Geneva Lake starting next year. It would also start charging the $12 fee at Conundrum Hot Springs, which already requires a reservation and permit.
The fee would be for overnight visits only and would be in place from May 1 through Oct. 31. Permits would be required through recreation.gov, which currently charges an additional $6 processing fee. No fee is being contemplated for day trippers in the wilderness area.
Overnight camping fee may soon be required for Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness thedenverchannel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thedenverchannel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.