Colorado 500

It's only the first week of June and our Alpine Rangers are already seeing signs of OHV recreationists bypassing trails and damaging our fragile Alpine Tundra. We understand that running into a patch of snow on a trail can be frustrating if you're wanting to travel further, but driving around the snow and going off-trail is not the right answer. When you bypass a trail, you're damaging a vital ecosystem to alpine critters who live at these high elevations - and you're also creating false trails that might lead others to follow your lead - these are know as "social trails" which continue to deteriorate the landscape. Please, if you can't proceed on a trail due to obstacles (snow, trees, etc.) do the Alpine Tundra and our beautiful high country a huge favor and turn around and go explore other areas that are melted out.

💻 Learn more from our friends at the San Juan Mountains Association: https://sjma.org/

DID YOU KNOW? Plants in the San Juans work hard! It may take a decade or more for a plant to mature. Tundra in the San Juans is a fragile ecosystem, existing only above 11,000 feet, where 6″ plants may be more than 100 years old.

WHAT CAN WE DO? Stay on designated trails and motorized routes. Cutting switchbacks can cause hillside erosion.

DID YOU KNOW? A widened trail, trail braids and social trails impact ecosystems by reducing the growth of plants and increasing erosion while also creating an eye sore.

WHAT CAN WE DO? Check trail conditions before you go, especially in spring and early summer. After a wet winter, trails above tree-line still have snowfields well into July.

Six Basins Project Inc.