OHV exemption expires along Marble road

No clear solution yet for Lead King Loop crowding

Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer

Just weeks ago, Gunnison County’s exemption allowing off-highway (OHV), all-terrain (ATV) and utility terrain vehicles (UTV) use along a popular stretch of road outside Marble expired, resurfacing a yearslong debate about noise and air pollution, road crowding and parking enforcement. County commissioners are considering whether to renew the exemption or pursue other solutions.

On most Colorado county roads, unlicensed recreational vehicles are prohibited, but on a small portion of County Road 3 (CR 3), the unlicensed vehicles have been allowed since 2016. The road winds south from Hwy. 133 to the Town of Marble, considered a “gateway community.” That means the town, with a population of just 120 year-round residents, is the throughway for the nearly 17,000 visitors who visit Marble and Crystal and the surrounding lands each summer, including the popular 13-mile Lead King Loop.

In May 2016, Gunnison County Commissioners authorized an exemption to the OHV ban, allowing use along that portion of the road. The reason boiled down to parking management, County Commissioner Jonathan Houck said in a Jan. 17 work session.

Health and safety issues arose along the road when individuals attempted to trailer an unlicensed vehicle, like an ATV or UTV, to the trailhead, rather than drive it on the road illegally. Limited space and turning radii led to traffic jams and trailers backed into personal driveways. The crowding made it difficult for people to get to work, move in and out of their homes or access their driveways safely.

Those multifaceted pressures led to the creation of the Lead King Loop stakeholder group in 2018, convened to provide management recommendations and balance the interests of Marble, Crystal, Gunnison County, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the White River National Forest.

But after COVID-era visitation soared and OHV access surfaced new issues, commissioners put an annual renewal on the exemption, which expired just weeks ago, to keep the conversation open as new challenges came to light.

Marble residents have expressed concern about noise, road safety, parking and environmental degradation due to the uptick in visitation and use of OHVs. Crowding along the road even created concern about the ability of emergency vehicles to access residences along CR 3.

Emergency vehicles in Marble, on a busy weekend with trailers lining CR 3, cannot access the Lead King Loop, the Town of Crystal or even the residents on Daniels Hill, said Marble Town Administrator Ron Leach in the work session. Environmental groups like High Country Conservation an attendant to facilitate. The report also identified three opportunities for further management, including a parking management plan, a reservation or permit system and educational outreach to users.

Advocates have expressed broader environmental concerns for wildlife and air quality.

An opportunity for a parking lot was identified at the base of Daniels Hill, which could be a trailhead-like amenity with space for loading and unloading, and even include restrooms and kiosks. That parking development would require coordination with the U.S. Forest Service, but the organization has expressed that current priorities and demand preclude the option of a parking lot. The permitting system is also not top-of-list, as usage of the area and impacts has not merited limiting use or collecting those metrics just yet.

Liz Smith County Commissioner

In October of 2022, the working group released a report containing suggestions for the management of the area, which included extending the exemption, creating some parallel parking along CR 3 and in Marble, parking signage and

Forest Service collaboration is not the only limiting factor. A trailhead parking area at the base of the hill was “vehemently opposed” by residents along CR 3 between Beaver Lake and the top of the hill, Houck said.

A small parking lot may lead to the same issues, Public Works Director Martin Schmidt said, ultimately pushing trailers back down the road into town.

Marble Mayor Ryan

Vinciguerra said the county and forest service should continue to explore the idea of a parking lot at the base of Daniels Hill.

“I think that it is a responsibility of theirs to offer the proper infrastructure for such an amazing trail,” he said. “The town is shouldering a lot of the parking responsibility, whether or not we want to, and I'm hoping that we can continue to do so in the interim.”

Enforcement shortage

In addition to the health and safety concerns around vehicular crowding, county law enforcement has not been able to keep up. The county has struggled to find another deputy to assist the one who currently serves the entire northern portion of the county.

Commissioner Liz Smith said the conversation comes down to safe access. She’s heard from community members that the exemption has made the issue worse.

“Allowing this use on County Road 3 has increased the demand, the ‘build it and they will come’ kind of mentality, where we have more volume because of this lifted restriction,” she said.

Smith said her support for recreation infrastructure is conditional on how stakeholders can control the volume that's associated with it.

“The easy answer is we just don't renew this and let this be an enforcement issue,” Houck said. “But I’ve been doing this work long enough to know that the problems still exist and that's why I'm not willing to take that easy off ramp.”

The board’s decision on the CR 3 exemption will not require a public hearing, so individuals who would like to make a comment on OHV use along the road can email county commissioners at bocc@gunnisoncounty.org or call individual commissioners directly at their numbers listed on the Gunnison County website.

(Abby Harrison can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or abby@ gunnisontimes.com.)