As peak hiking season kicks off at Colorado’s iconic Blue Lakes, U.S. Forest Service officials are proposing new fees associated with permits that will be required to visit the area in future years.
Read more Communication skills a strength for new CU Buffs assistant Tyson Gilbert
On Monday, the agency announced that it anticipates charging $5 for a day-use permit and $25 for an overnight camping permit, starting in the summer of 2027. However, the prices people pay will total $6 and $31, respectively, as reservation site recreation.gov charges a processing fee of $1 for day permits and $6 for overnight permits.
People come from across the U.S. to see the Blue Lakes’ show-stopping turquoise waters and to summit Mount Sneffels’ 14,150-foot peak. In 2023, the Forest Service began considering a permit system to reduce foot traffic to the Blue Lakes and surrounding Mount Sneffels Wilderness, near Ridgway and Telluride, after studies showed that the area had sustained significant damage from overcrowding.
About 35,000 people recreate there annually, the vast majority of which come from June to October, according to the Forest Service. The permit system intends to slash that number to about 8,000 visitors per year. Permits will be required from June 1 through Sept. 30, which is the height of summer tourism to the area.
“The majority of the revenue generated from the fees would be used on-site to manage these areas, which is key to allowing us to reduce resource damage and continue providing high-quality recreation opportunities,” Dana Gardunio, Ouray District Ranger, said in a statement.
Decreasing the number of people who hike and camp near the Blue Lakes is essential to restoring the environment and ensuring it remains a wild location for future generations to visit, Gardunio previously told The Denver Post.
Gorgeous Colorado hike reopens this summer with new rules for hiking, camping, human waste
Read more Colorado Springs brewery that made national headlines closing after 8 years
In fact, the Forest Service closed the trail altogether in 2025 to remediate some of the impacts. Crews focused on re-seeding human-made campsites that eroded the soils, ripping up user-made trails, clearing dead trees, and cleaning up human waste.
While hikers and campers do not need permits this year, there are new rules they need to be aware of before visiting. For example, human feces must be packed out and campers are required to carry bear-resistant food storage containers approved by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.
Additionally, there are capacity limits for both cars and individuals who plan to camp overnight. Those who cannot find a designated parking spot at the trailhead or a camp site at least 100 feet away from both water and trails should be prepared to turn around.
“Right now, the rule is that you should be parking in designated spots only, and if there aren’t spots, then you would leave,” Gardunio said in an April interview.
The Forest Service is soliciting public comment on the fee proposal from now until Aug. 31. Locals can submit comments via email to [email protected], or online through the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region Recreation Fee Proposals website. Comments can also be submitted to the Ouray District Ranger office, at 2505 S. Townsend Ave., in Montrose, by mail or in-person.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Adventurist, to get outdoors news sent straight to your inbox.
Read more Sheridan teachers union alleges district retaliated, fired employees after strike
