OURAY, Colo. — The Blue Lakes Trailhead near Ouray will close for much of this summer for construction and restoration efforts along the heavily used trail.
This marks the first phase of the U.S. Forest Service's (USFS) Blue Lakes Visitor Use Management Plan, which focuses on reducing visitor impacts, maximizing orderly parking, relocating the current toilet and ensuring long-term sustainability of the natural resources. The plan was approved in late March 2024 and implementation will begin in June, with the closure of the Blue Lakes area on June 2.
The closure will remain in place through August 2025.
“We are looking forward to putting this plan into motion,” said Dana Gardunio, district ranger for the Ouray District. “While we understand having a temporary closure is an inconvenience, the outcome will vastly improve the parking and public health and safety issue in the area. We appreciate the public’s cooperation in respecting the closure.”
You can explore the Blue Lakes Visitor Use management plan here or in the PDF below.
Blue Lakes — about 12 miles south of Ridgway in southwest Colorado — has seen a significant increase in visitors over the past few years that has led to management challenges, which includes safety and environmental concerns, as well as issues with parking and camping.
This has resulted in frustrations between visitors, but also damage to the ecosystems, the USFS reported.
This plan aims to fix those problems.
"Implementation actions will vary by zone within the plan and include designating campsites, maintaining trails, requiring proper disposal of solid human waste, enforcing food storage rules to reduce wildlife conflicts, installing signs, closing and rehabilitating user-created trails and dispersed campsites and establishing a limited permit system for day-use and overnight use at the Blue Lakes," a USFS document reads.
The work will also cover cataloging invasive plants, developing outreach campaigns, installing temporary fences to protect restored areas and developing a way to better monitor visitor use metrics. The National Forest Foundation and Southwest Conservation Corps will assist with the camping area and restoration work.
This project uses funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, which was passed in August 2020 to address a backlog of maintenance projects on public lands.
You can read the lengthy Blue Lakes Visitor Use Management Plan's environmental assessment at this link or in the PDF below.
The trailhead for Blue Lakes is accessible from County Road 7, which will close to all visitors starting at the USFS boundary on June 2, the USFS said. It will remain closed until all of the work is complete.
Parts of the Dallas and Wilson Creek trails will also close.
A permit system for Blue Lakes is expected to begin in 2026 between June and September. Ninety-five percent of funds collected from this, per the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, will go toward supporting the project area. The remaining 5% will go to the USFS' Rocky Mountain Regional Office.
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