{"id":22420,"date":"2020-04-15T11:32:59","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T17:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=64210"},"modified":"2020-04-15T11:32:59","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T17:32:59","slug":"as-trails-open-in-eagle-police-chief-says-locals-only-policy-must-be-respected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/as-trails-open-in-eagle-police-chief-says-locals-only-policy-must-be-respected\/","title":{"rendered":"As trails open in Eagle, police chief says locals-only policy must be respected"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/04\/TrailsOpenAndClose-VDN-041520-2-150x150-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt><figcaption><strong>The town of Eagle closed the Haymaker trailhead parking area, the Pool &amp; Ice facility lot, and the BMX track and pump track because social distancing guidelines were not being observed by users of those amenities. Some nearby trails are set to open on April 16, but users are asked to access from their houses if possible, rather than driving to the trailhead, as the lots are expected to remain closed during April due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Eagle County. <\/strong><br \/><em>Nate Peterson | npeterson@vaildaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>EAGLE COUNTY \u2014 While&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vvmta.org\/trail-closures\/\" target=\"_blank\">some downvalley trails<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>&nbsp;are set to open on Wednesday, and other trails in the middle of the valley are expected to open soon, trail users are being asked to observe restrictions both old and new this year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>New restrictions include a&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eaglecounty.us\/PublicHealth\/News\/Eagle_County_issues_updated_public_health_order\/\" target=\"_blank\">locals-only policy<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, where use of Eagle County public lands, and the trails they contain, is restricted to Eagle County residents during the COVID-19 outbreak. This will remain in effect throughout April.<\/p>\n<p>Old restrictions include the long-observed policy of \u201cmuddy trails are closed trails,\u201d and if elk are still in the area, trail closures will also be observed. As trails are still muddy in Avon, the West Avon Preserve, which saw snow this week, will remain closed for now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Social distancing guidelines are also being enforced. Eagle Police Chief Joey Staufer said the department had to close the Haymaker trailhead parking area, the Eagle Pool &amp; Ice facility lot, and the BMX track and pump track because social distancing guidelines were not being observed by users of those amenities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row shn-donation shn-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.skyhinews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/02\/shn-logo-2x-wht.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe had multiple complaints very early in the social distancing provisions,\u201d Staufer said. \u201cThat is what resulted in the directive to close down those areas that are more prominent for social gathering, where those complaints were coming in, and once those parking lots and playgrounds and other gathering areas were closed down with caution tape and signs put up, we didn\u2019t have any additional areas of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Police: Exercise is important<\/h3>\n<p>Staufer said exercise is of top importance in Eagle County, so if there\u2019s one thing he\u2019s asking people to abide, it\u2019s the locals-only policy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to give our town some time to recover and our residents some time to recover,\u201d Staufer said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s been difficult for our community and communities around us \u2014 We need to get out, we need to exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As of Wednesday, mountain bikers will be able to ride the Boneyard and Redneck Ridge trails, as well as the First Two Loops of Haymaker in Eagle. While the Varsity Loop trail will be open in Eagle, the Extra Credit loop will remain closed temporarily due to continued elk presence. Residents are asked to ride from their houses if possible as most parking lots in the area are closed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For hikers, the Mesquite Trail in Edwards is now open. Local resident and longtime trail advocate Lee Rimel said the trail is in good shape.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s extremely dry, south-facing,\u201d Rimel said.<\/p>\n<p>But the Mesquite Trailhead is temporarily closed, however, so locals will need to use the Charolais Circle trailhead instead.<\/p>\n<h3>Lots of use&nbsp;<\/h3>\n<p>The Berry Creek trail in Edwards is also dry, but Forest Service regulations call for the Berry Creek trail to be used for hiking only until May 21. Ernest Saeger with the Vail Valley Trails Alliance said not a lot of people were aware of that regulation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has probably been 3,000 people who have ridden their bikes on Berry Creek already this year,\u201d Saeger said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Michelle Wolffe said while local efforts to enforce trail regulations like the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vvmta.org\/trail-ambassadors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trail Ambassador Program<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>&nbsp;are on hold for the time being, she is still seeking volunteers to help in those efforts as she knows they will be needed again soon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do know of some amazing abuse on all the trails,\u201d Wolffe said. \u201cForty cars parked at a 10-car parking lot for these trailheads, it\u2019s a little worrisome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eagle Open Space Coordinator John Staight said he suspects the trails are seeing increased use as a result of the increased free time in people\u2019s schedules.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore we closed down the pump track and the BMX track, I was seeing way more people than I\u2019ve ever seen out there,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the upper valley, many trails are still covered in snow, some of which are snowshoe accessible. The North Trail in Vail is closed through June 20, along with Whiskey Creek and the Everkrisp trails in Eagle-Vail.&nbsp;Visit&nbsp;<a class rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vvmta.org\/trail-closures\/\" target=\"_blank\">vvmta.org\/trail-closures\/<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>&nbsp;for more information.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/news\/as-trails-open-in-eagle-police-chief-says-locals-only-policy-must-be-respected\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The town of Eagle closed the Haymaker trailhead parking area, the Pool &amp; Ice facility lot, and the BMX track and pump track because social distancing guidelines were not being observed by users of those amenities. Some nearby trails are set to open on April 16, but users are asked to access from their houses [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 06:55:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22420\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}