County considers its annual ATV policy for County Road 3

Issue near Marble is a “tough nut to crack”

By Katherine Nettles and Mark Reaman

Gunnison County commissioners had their annual in-depth discussion Tuesday, April 2 on whether to continue allowing ATVs and OHVs on County Road 3 (CR3) accessing the Lead King Loop (LKL) near Marble. The previous annual exemption that allowed the off-road recreational vehicles expired at the end of 2023, and as roads and trails begin to dry out, the issue of how to handle it this summer is again at hand. Commissioners directed county staff to draft a motion to reopen the road to recreational vehicles and during the April 16 meeting, commissioners unanimously approved the measure.

“We have made a commitment to revisit this every year and are doing so. It is a tough nut to crack,” said commissioner Jonathan Houck on April 16.

Due to the multiple jurisdictions involved in the area, there are several entities working to manage issues around traffic congestion, parking and problematic or destructive user behavior on the road and trail. Any longer-term resolutions to the problems may be addressed in an upcoming forest plan revision from the White River National Forest, but that will not be at play this summer. 

“County Road 3 has been a problem for a long time,” said Houck at the outset of the April 2 discussion. He reviewed the multitude of stakeholders that own or manage property in the area above Marble, from the town of Marble, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the White River National Forest, Gunnison and Pitkin counties and several private landowners. “So, we have kind of a mix of things that influence decisions on County Road 3.”

Houck also reviewed that commissioners hear many conflicting requests and nuanced opinions from their constituents on the matter, ranging from closing the road to ATVs altogether to expanding access for them, and how best to manage use and outreach.

“These aren’t easy decisions and one of the things we committed to as a board a few years ago…was to open the roads to this type of [ATV] use mainly because of a concern for emergencies and responses,” he said. The Lead King Loop (LKL), which is managed by the White River National Forest, can only be accessed by CR3 at the top of Daniels Hill which lacks adequate access for vehicles with trailers to safely park or turn around.

Gunnison County public works director Martin Schmidt and Marble town administrator Ron Leach gave updates on how things worked out last summer in 2023.

“Based on the response from the public and talking with people that live and work in the area, it seems like last year was a mild improvement over previous years for the annoyance of ATVs, OHVs and the parking at the base of Daniels Hill,” said Schmidt. “It seems like the parking that occurred in the town of Marble worked pretty well,” he added. Schmidt said he had several meetings with Forest Service staff about the base of Daniels Hill, and they determined an area to put in a cul-de-sac, turn around area and 12 parking spaces. The Forest Service decided to have an environmental impact assessment done and has initiated that process which can be extensive. 

Schmidt noted that even a parking lot at the base of Daniels Hill would require people to drive their ATVs up to the top of Daniels Hill to access the LKL, however. He said the Lead King Loop working group is still pursuing other solutions as well. 

Leach spoke about the town of Marble’s recent effort to manage parking south of the fire station on Third Street. “For the past three years we have had an attendant we pay during the summer months,” he said. “We are able to park 12 truck-trailer combinations in that lower lot, and every year it gets a little better and a little more organized.” 

Marble has not pursued a reservation system or electric signage, Leach said, due to high costs, but they got a wooden signpost from Gunnison County and are able to use that. “Our plans this year are to continue with the parking attendant and do some more parking enforcement around town. We have noticed a general improvement on the OHV issues around town and I credit that to the LKL committee,” he said. “I think the Gunnison County sheriff’s response with putting more deputies over in the Marble area is very valuable and I think that what the public works department is doing with the turnaround on Daniels Hill and additional passenger parking up there helps also.”

Commissioner Liz Smith said the White River National Forest is preparing to do a forest plan revision and may take the opportunity to look more closely at how to manage the LKL or add infrastructure to support recreation there.  

She acknowledged that even though the LKL working group made several recommendations, “I know that people would still like to see some significant changes to the way that things are operated. Until we have a very clear direction one way or the other to completely ban ATVs or go all in, I think this is the most pragmatic and responsible way for us to move forward.”

“I think we need to pull the working group together again. That would be valuable a couple times a year,” said commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels on April 16. She also suggested having the commissioners look at the resolution for County Road 3 in January or February of 2025 to provide more time for consideration. 

Houck noted that with a full sheriff’s staff working in the area this summer, the county should have access to more data on the situation next year.