OUR MISSION

A hiking plan to better inform the public

The popularity of several trails in the East Vail area – Booth Lake, Pitkin, Bighorn, Deluge Lake, and Gore Creek – has grown over the past several years. These trails lead directly into the Eagles Nest Wilderness, which was established by an act of Congress in 1976. The Eagles Nest Wilderness is managed under the Wilderness Act as a place where natural processes rule and where the imprint of humans is temporary and substantially unnoticeable. More information about wilderness can be found here.

Due to the high amounts of visitor use, particularly in the past several years, conditions on these five trails have deteriorated and the wilderness character of the area has been impacted. The Town of Vail and Forest Service have initiated a planning process which we hope will resolve several issues we face at these trails: parking congestion, wilderness preservation, trail impacts, effects to private property, and stream and watershed impacts. Together, we want to encourage people to enjoy their public land responsibly and protect the Eagles Nest Wilderness.