Elk Mountains Byway selected for pilot kid’s program

Promoting kid-healthy vacations

Gunnison County will help set the stage for a new program promoting family-friendly outdoor recreation. The Colorado Scenic & Historic Byways Program selected the West Elk Loop Scenic and Historic Byway as one of five byways that will develop “kid-healthy” programs to get more kids into nature.

The Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism Association (TA) applied for the program in partnership with representatives from Delta and Pitkin counties. Jane Chaney, executive director of the TA, will work with Delta County tourism coordinator Kelli Hepler and Pitkin County representative Laurie Stevens to promote the West Elk Byway as a family destination.
“We’re just delighted that we were chosen,” Chaney said. “The program will afford national attention to our West Elk Loop Scenic and Historic Byway.”
Their application was selected by a committee of peers, as well as representatives from several agencies including the Colorado Creative Industries, the Collegiate Peaks Scenic and Historic Byway and the Colorado River Headwaters.
Beginning this month, Chaney and her counterparts will work with local businesses and organizations to develop activities, travel itineraries and outdoor opportunities for kids of all ages. That could mean promoting existing activities like the junior park rangers program at Curecanti National Recreation Area, or it could mean helping restaurants develop kid-friendly fare, or helping businesses create programs just for kids.
That’s where the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Program comes in—providing some of the technical expertise and training, as well as promoting the programs on a statewide and national level. Exactly how that partnership will work will become more clear when the program gets rolling. Chaney said her current knowledge of the program is based on the application process, and more information is yet to come.
But what the Historic Byways Program won’t be is a funding mechanism. Small funds will be available for some components of the program, such as “secret shoppers”—families who can try out the activities and give feedback. The History Byways Program would help compensate those families.
Most efforts, however, will be completed using existing resources, and a lot of the work will be taken on by the TA, its Delta and Pitkin county partners, and businesses and organizations that participate in developing activities. But Chaney doesn’t believe there will be hidden costs to participating.
“When there are elements that are required by the program, there would be no unfunded mandates. We wouldn’t have to come up with extra money to create web sites or brochures,” Chaney said.
In general, she said, efforts will capitalize on existing assets. In addition to getting kids outside, Chaney hopes to promote conservation education, make activities accessible to families with tight budgets, and put together “staycation” packages for families who want to stay close to home. The Elk Mountains Scenic Byway will be the framework in which they are promoted.
“The vehicle for all of that, that’s where the byway comes in,” Chaney said. “The byway is the wrapping paper with the big red bow on it.”
The biggest benefit, Chaney believes, is doing it in partnership with the Historic Byways Program.
“One of the great advantages to this kind of a program, in addition to being a great value to families and children, is the spinoff benefit of public relations. Being part of a program like this, the state will be touting this and it will go to a national stage,” Chaney said.