Is not sharing caring? For hikers and mountain bikers, it's a question around Colorado's busiest trails.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Should some trails be for bikes only and other trails for people on foot?

Or should there be rules on which direction bikers, hikers, runners and equestrians move?

Or should there be certain days of the week for certain uses?

Maybe not sharing is caring?

Increasingly across the Colorado Front Range's increasingly complicated recreation landscape, these are questions being asked.

They are questions currently being asked in Boulder County, where commissioners have directed Parks and Open Space staff to explore the concept of "alternating use." That's been the buzz phrase of open houses and an ongoing survey gauging interest in designating certain days for certain uses - "instead of having all activities allowed at the same time," an informational webpage explains.

"The Boulder County Commissioners are interested in whether trying alternating use could improve safety and enhance the visitor experience," the webpage continues, explaining a potential pilot program to collect data on the ground.

It's not certain the pilot will launch this summer, nor have other specifics been outlined. But popular destinations have been mentioned, including Heil Valley Ranch, Hall Ranch and Walker Ranch. And the concept would not be entirely new to Boulder County: At Betasso Preserve, biking is not allowed Wednesdays and Saturdays, while trails remain open to people on foot and horseback every day.

Boulder Mountainbike Alliance sees the potential pilot as a move toward more restrictions, calling it "a major shift from long-standing shared use." The group has called for a different kind of shift, one involving trails for single uses and designated directions for hikers and mountain bikers to avoid each other.

Indeed, varying shifts have been seen at busy trail systems elsewhere on the Front Range.

At Apex Park near Golden, trails are assigned for bikes on even numbered dates and for hikers and equestrians on odd dates. Those rules were implemented in 2020, following even and odd rules that had been in place for weekends at Centennial Cone Park.

Said Matt Robbins, Jefferson County Parks and Open Space's community connections director: "There's appreciation on the part of bikers who know they can get to a speed downhill and know they're not gonna have any interference by a hiker or a dog. And then hikers feel safer as well."

The appreciation is not total. "We still see challenges primarily with hikers trying to hike on biker days," Robbins said.

Some are visitors unaware of the rules. And some might be rebelling against the rules that altered the everyday freedom they previously enjoyed.

"When you're modifying something that was pre-existing, there's a general sense of loss," Robbins said.

Jefferson County's portfolio also includes trails built or modified for bikes only. Those have been smoother transitions, Robbins said: "The key I think is building out these trails and getting them designated as early as possible, if not on opening day."

That will be the case for trails opening this summer at Blodgett Open Space on Colorado Springs' north side.

As outlined in a 2024 master plan, about 2 1/2 miles of bike-only trail will be designated among a 7-mile network that will otherwise be multi-use. The plan is to eventually build out 14 miles, including 1 1/2 miles for hiking-only, in what will be one of the city's more notable trail expansions in recent memory.

It will be notable, too, for the amount of bike-only trails.

"It's an important step on this trajectory that we're on," said Cory Sutela, with local mountain biking group Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates.

He traces the trajectory back to 2014, when the city Parks Department approved its systemwide master plan.

The city had hiking-only trails, including across Garden of the Gods and summits in North Cheyenne Cañon Park. But before that master plan, "there really wasn't an option of single-use" for mountain bikes, Sutela said.

Bikes had been improving in capability, and the number of people interested in them was growing. Over Medicine Wheel's 35 years, "our general approach is we try to build multi-use trails," Sutela said. "But when you start to see more people on really fun, sustained downhill trails, that becomes a problem when they're multi-use. And I think the best example of that is the Chutes."

The Chutes is a downhill, bike-only trail following an era of crashes and near crashes. The 2014 master plan cleared the way for the designation and other bike-only trails that came to Ute Valley Park, North Cheyenne Cañon and Pulpit Rock, where a hiking-only trail to the summit is anticipated this summer.

The Enlightenment Trail represents a goal of the Parks Department, said David Deitemeyer, senior administrator for the Trails, Open Space and Parks program. He also mentioned the hiking-only Gold Camp Path that was developed in line with the Chutes: "When we do single-use trails, we still look to connect points A to B. We want the destination to still be accessible for all those non-motorized uses. So now you have two trails instead of one."

That comes with increased concern for impacts to the land and habitat, he recognized. He recognized another concern: enforcement, keeping people where they should be.

And no matter the attention to all users, it's hard to make everyone happy, said Gary Moore.

"I don't know a hiker who wouldn't say they want a hiking-only trail and I don't know a mountain biker who wouldn't say they want a bike-only trail," said the executive director of the Colorado Mountain Bike Association.

Lately, Moore has been advocating for single-use trails as a master plan comes together for William F. Hayden Park on Lakewood's super popular Green Mountain. He has pointed to models off Interstate 70 around Floyd Hill, Maryland Mountain and, more recently, at Virginia Canyon Mountain Park in Idaho Springs, where trails continue to grow around a network with varying single-use and directional designations for hikers and bikers.

Moore has noted those trends over the better part of the past decade since joining the Colorado Mountain Bike Association. "Conflicts were high, that was the environment I walked into," he said. "Everybody was yelling at each other about trail conflicts."

In Glenn Carlson's mind, it's easy to imagine other conflicts arising in his native Colorado Springs. He's executive director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition and a hiker who counts himself "all for" single-use trails while understanding tension.

"We all pay into the system," he said, referring to tax dollars. "Do I get every single thing that I care about? No, absolutely not. I would ask other people to just be grateful we're getting more resources for other people to enjoy."

And to remember sharing is still caring: "It comes down to etiquette," he said.

Designated trails

Here are some single-use trails around Colorado Springs' parks and open spaces:

- Hiking only: Majority of Garden of the Gods trails; Mount Cutler, Mount Muscoco and Silver Cascade Falls in North Cheyenne Cañon Park; Gold Camp Path and Stratton Springs Path in Stratton Open Space; Contemplative Trail in Red Rock Canyon Open Space

- Biking only: The Chutes in Stratton Open Space; Captain Morgans in North Cheyenne Cañon; Rattle Rocks and Almond Butter in Ute Valley Park; Black Sheep Trail on Pulpit Rock; more coming to south end of Blodgett Open Space this summer

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