Ouray Trails - Trail Use Data

One of the many functions of the Ouray Trail Group is to collect and consolidate trail register data sheets from the many trails in Ouray County. The data is used by the U.S. Forest Service to determine the best way to allocate resources to this area. In addition, further analysis of the trail use data helps the Ouray Trail Group determine most effective use of our volunteer resources throughout the trail system.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that less than one third of all trail users actually register at the trail head. Besides the obvious resource use benefits gained from trail use data, register sheets play a vital role in search and rescue operations. For these reasons, we strongly encourage you to utilize trailhead registers.

Annual Summary of Recorded Trail Traffic Ouray County Trails - 2003 Ordered by Total Number of Users
Trail	Trail System	Total Number of Registered Users
Lower Cascade Falls	Amphitheater	2,624
BlueLakes/Blaine	Blue Lakes / Blaine	2,458
Bear Creek	Bear Creek / Ridge Stock / Upper Horsethief	1,950
Baby Bath Tub	Amphitheater	1,766
Upper Cascade Amph. Central	Amphitheater	1,742
Mt. Sneffels/Blue Lake Pass	Blue Lakes / Blaine	1,599
8th AVE, Cascade Falls	Amphitheater	1,344
Wrights Lake	Blue Lakes	1,222
Weehawken	Camp Bird Road Trails	1,208
E. Fork of the Cimarron	Cimarron Trails	808
Portland	Amphitheater	744
Oak Creek	Dallas / Twin Peaks Trails	712
Dallas/Corbett	Dallas / Twin Peaks Trails	668
Courthouse, West Fork Rd.	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek Trails	660
Silvershield	Dallas / Twin Peaks Trails	617
Wetterhorn Basin	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek Trails	606
Sutton	Camp Bird Road Trails	562
Horsethief	Dexter / Difficulty Creek / Lower Horsethief Trails	529
MiddleFork	Cimarron Trails	443
Old Twin Peaks	Dallas / Twin Peaks Trails	390
Upper Cascade 5th Ave.	Amphitheater	364
Dexter	Dexter / Difficulty Creek / Lower Horsethief Trails	348
Camp Bird Rd (winter use)	Camp Bird Road Trails	255
Baldy	Baldy System Trails	219
Stealey Mt. - Owl Creek Rass Rd.	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek Trails	210
Cutler	Baldy System Trails	209
Ice Park	Camp Bird Road Trails	180
Hayden (Camp Bird TH)	Camp Bird Road Trails	100
Richmond	Camp Bird Road Trails	72
Ironton Ski Trail	Nordic / Ironton Trails	62
Hayden (Hwy. 550 TH)	Camp Bird Road Trails	60
Cow Creek	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek Trails	45
Stealey Mt. - Cow Creek Rd.	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek Trails	24
Courthouse, Cow Creek	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek Trails	8

For complete monthly summaries of all trail use data, click any of the links below (note - you must have Adobe Reader to view these files):
Monthly Summary of Recorded Trail Traffic - 2003
Monthly Summary of Recorded Trail Traffic - 2002
Monthly Summary of Recorded Trail Traffic - 2001

***
Special thanks to the many Ouray Trail Group volunteers to who regularly inspect the trails and collect trail register data sheets.
Kudos, as well, to the volunteers who tirelessly collect and enter this data, especially Henry Hooper, Laurie Bunten, and Dale King.
***