Alternating Trail Use Pilot Project

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Boulder County is exploring a community-informed pilot program that tests alternating usage on select trails to potentially improve safety and enhance the experience for users. The pilot will temporarily assign specific days or times for different users (hikers, bikers, equestrians) instead of having all activities allowed at the same time.

Short-Term Pilot Project

The Boulder County Commissioners are interested in whether trying alternating use could improve safety and enhance the visitor experience and have asked staff to create a community‑informed pilot. This effort responds to and allows staff to explore ways to improve how busy, shared trails function in real conditions. The pilot is an opportunity to test a short‑term approach and learn together before any long‑term changes are considered.

The community benefits from many local trails used for biking, hiking, and horseback riding. The pilot will temporarily assign certain days or times for different uses instead of having all activities occur at once. Alternating use means specific activities are allowed only on designated days or times on the same trail.

The pilot will not involve building new or parallel trails. It will not convert multi-use trails into single-use trails, or single-use trails into multi-use trails. It will only consider alternating use scheduling options on trails that are currently designated as multi-use for biking, hiking, and horseback riding.

The pilot is not a permanent change. It is a short‑term test designed to show what works, what does not work, and what impacts different approaches might have. Community feedback will help shape the pilot’s design, and after it is in place, additional feedback will be collected. All findings will inform long‑term decision making by the Board of County Commissioners.

Get Involved

Parks & Open Space and the Board of County Commissioners strongly believe community input should guide how trails are managed and want to hear from you. Your input will directly influence how the pilot is designed and help determine what matters most to trail users.

2025 Visitor Study Findings

Every five years, Boulder County conducts a system-wide demographics and satisfaction survey. These visitor studies complement regular annual research and look at long-term trends in demographics, preferences, attitudes, and behaviors. The 2025 visitor study is being analyzed, and the full report will be published later this year. Some of the information most relevant to this pilot includes:

• Countywide visitation has grown since it was first measured in 2007 (880,000 visits), peaking in 2020 at 2.1 million visits, and declining slightly from 1.8 million visits in 2024 to 1.7 million visits in 2026.
• Heil Valley Ranch recorded approximately 66,000 annual visits in 2025, similar to Betasso Preserve, where alternating use is already implemented.
• Hiking and biking remain the dominant activities across the system, with biking especially prominent at Heil Valley Ranch, Betasso Preserve, and Hall Ranch.
• Conflicts are infrequent systemwide (about 4%). Among reported incidents, negative interactions between bicyclists and pedestrians were the most common.

Prior to the Cal-Wood Fire in 2020, Heil Valley Ranch was the second most visited park with 110,000 visits in 2019 (second only to Pella Crossing). Please see the 2025 Annual Visitation Report for complete details about visitation numbers last year.

Visitor Experience and Activities

According to the goal interference theory in recreation, “conflict” may occur when visitors interfere with one another’s goals on the trail, leading to unpleasant experiences. Visitors were asked if they experienced conflict that day, and 4% of visitors across all parks reported experiencing a conflict. Conflicts between visitors participating in biking and pedestrians were reported due to differences in speed, difficulty in sharing narrow trail space, lack of communication, and understanding requirements for yielding. At Heil Valley Ranch 4% of respondents reported experiencing conflict that day (6 responses) and Betasso Preserve had 5% of visitors report conflict that day (10 responses).

Across all parks, the three most frequently reported visitor activities are hiking (55%), biking (21%), and running (7%). In 2025, Betasso Preserve (where alternative, hiker only use days have already implemented), Heil Valley Ranch, and Hall Ranch had the highest percentages of visitors reporting biking as their primary activity:

• Betasso Preserve (excluding Wednesday and Saturday)
  Biking: 70%, Hiking: 24%, Running: 4%, Conflict: 5%
• Heil Valley Ranch
  Biking: 59%, Hiking: 35%, Running: 17%, Conflict: 4%
• Hall Ranch
  Biking: 56%, Hiking: 43%, Running: 15%, Conflict: 7%

Alternative Day Use Study at Betasso Preserve

In 2013, visitors to Betasso Preserve were surveyed about the alternative day use regulation.

2013 Alternative Day Use at Betasso Preserve Study

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a pilot?
A pilot is a temporary change used to test a new way of doing thing. It is not permanent. The goal is to try an approach on a small scale, gather community feedback, and understand potential impacts before any long‑term decisions are made.

What does alternating use mean?
Alternating use assigns certain days or times for specific activities on the same trail. Some trails allow multiple activities at once, such as biking, hiking, and horseback riding. Other trails have limits, for example hiking‑only trails. For example, at Betasso Preserve, bicycling is not allowed on Wednesdays and Saturdays but is allowed on other days.

Which trails will be part of the pilot?
No final decisions have been made. Trails under consideration are existing multi‑use trails where multiple activities occur at the same time. Community feedback will help determine which locations move forward for testing.

Why is Boulder County considering alternating use?
Following prior direction from the Boulder County Commissioners, Parks & Open Space is exploring if alternating use could address trail‑use conflicts, improve safety, or enhance visitor experience. The pilot will evaluate real‑world impacts with community involvement.

How long will the pilot last?
The pilot will take place and be concluded by the end of 2026.

How can I help shape the pilot?
You can take the community survey or attend the open house. Feedback will help design the pilot. Additional feedback will also be collected once the pilot is in place.

Who will make the final decision about permanent changes?
After the pilot is complete and feedback is collected, results will be provided to the Board of County Commissioners. They will determine whether any permanent management changes should be considered.

Parks & Open Space

Jarret Roberts
jroberts@bouldercounty.gov