DENVER—The U.S. Forest Service has officially decided to institute a hiking permit system for the Blue Lakes near Telluride, but exactly when it will take effect remains undetermined.
Located in the San Juan Mountains, the Blue Lakes are popular due to their picturesque turquoise waters and proximity to 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels. But in recent years increased foot traffic has negatively impacted the natural landscape and the experience for hikers—so much so that, last fall, officials proposed a plan to curtail visitation by requiring reservations.
The decision to adopt that plan comes after nearly a year of gathering feedback from the public. While a few amendments have been made—for example, the window when permits will be required shrunk by a month—the plan remains mostly intact.
Dana Gardunio at the forest service’s Ouray Ranger District said the permit system could launch by the summer of 2025 if the technology is ready, but it is more likely to be up and running by 2026.
Gardunio estimates the permit system will cut the number of summertime visitors by 40 percent, from 13,000 to 7,808 people. Though that’s a significant decrease, the agency deemed it necessary to mitigate human waste in the area, vegetation loss from campsite expansion, user-created trails, negative dog interactions, illegal campfires, bear conflicts, overcrowding, and parking congestion.
“It’s really important to keep in mind that this plan is really a blueprint of where we are headed,” Gardunio said by email. “It’s not an ‘on/off’ switch… so this will be years of planning and implementation to come.”
The first thing officials will do is reconstruct parking spots at the Blue Lakes trailhead and install two new toilets there. Then they will begin working with recreation.gov on the permit system. The forest service also expects to monitor how the implementation goes, and may decide to either broaden or further restrict access to the zones.
If You Go
Permits Required at Blue Lakes
Starting in 2025 or 2026, hikers and campers will be required to reserve a permit to access the Blue Lakes from June 1 to Sept. 30.Climbing Mount Sneffels
Mountaineers will not be required to have a permit to climb Mount Sneffels if they approach from the Yankee Boy Basin trailhead; however, dogs are prohibited from climbing in the Mount Sneffels zone together. That includes the summit.The forest service banned dispersed camping in all five zones. Instead, camping will only be permitted in designated sites that the agency plans to build out with fire rings, signage, and other infrastructure.
That includes sites along the Blue Lakes trail, including at the trailhead and at Lower Blue Lake. At the latter, the agency plans to reduce the number of camping spots to four and remediate the rest of the 144 sites that currently exist there. Access to those would be available exclusively to permit holders. Campsites at the trailhead would be available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Additionally, camping is now banned above treeline and/or in alpine tundra. Current regulations prohibit open fires in the Wilderness Zone, where the Blue Lakes are, and that restriction will remain in place.
