CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — As the season changes, our mountain communities gear up for the rush of visitors that come with the colorful fall foliage. Guanella Pass is one of those popular spots, but visitors could end up with a nearly $90 fine if they park illegally.
Jenny Fulton, public information officer for the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office, explained that leaf peeping is a tourist attraction that attracts crowds of people into the area. She stressed the importance of following their parking regulations to avoid being towed or fined $87.50.
Watch Maggy Wolanske's report in the video player below:
"We need them to park in designated parking areas like parking lots or pull-offs. If they're in a pull-off, they need to make sure that their vehicles entirely off the roadway. No portion of their vehicles should be in the in the roadway," Fulton said.
During Labor Day weekend, Fulton said they issued 136 tickets, with that number dropping to just 25 last weekend. Denver7 previously reported that on peak weekends, around 10,000 cars go through Guanella Pass, and during the week it could be around 4,000 to 6,000 cars.
"You have to keep moving, so it's really just a common-sense thing. We do have a tendency where somebody will park on the side of the road, and they'll be in the roadway, and then people think it's okay because one or two or three vehicles did it, and now all of a sudden everybody's doing it," Fulton said.
This will mark the second year of parking penalties, with Fulton explaining that the enforcement is to help emergency vehicles have a clear roadway to travel on when responding to incidents.
"We have incidents up here every fall, we have crashes—we even had a medical incident that required the helicopter to land at the summit two years ago during leaf peeping season. We need to make sure that emergency vehicles can get through Guanella Pass Road up to the summit at all times, including leaf peeping season," Fulton said.
The visitors Denver7 spoke with strategically planned to come see the fall sights on a weekday. Visitor Mary Lewis said, "I usually try to come on the weekdays. I'm a restaurant server, so like I'm usually off on weekdays anyways, but weekends I've heard can get pretty crazy."
Fanny Vega and Kyle Stevenson also made the trip up to enjoy the fall foliage and photograph this peak time.
Stevenson said, "We moved back in April, so we were there for the whole summer and then the second fall rolled around—we had to get up here."
Lucky for these visitors, there were plenty of spots on Tuesday for them to park in. However, they had not heard about the penalties currently in place, making it even more crucial to share this message.
"We just issue so many tickets because there are so many people that have formed a line that are parked on the roadway, and it's unfortunate, but it starts with one. So really, we just need people to be cognizant of the parking regulations," Fulton explained.
If you are getting ready to catch the beautiful fall foliage, Denver7 created this guide highlighting popular hikes, drives, and train rides that you can enjoy.
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