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 - 2005 Ordered by Total Number of Users
Trail	Trail System	Total Number of Registered Users
Upper Cascade Falls	Amphitheater	2,381
Blue Lakes/Blaine	Blue Lakes / Blaine	2,287
Bear Creek	Bear Creek / Ridge Stock / Upper Horsethief	2,054
Baby Bath Tubs	Amphitheater	1,696
Lower Cascade Falls	Amphitheater	1,157
Weehawken	Camp Bird Road	1,037
Wright's Lake	Blue Lakes / Blaine	947
Upper Cascade, 5th Ave	Amphitheater	910
Sutton	Camp Bird Road	852
E. Fork of the Cimarron	Cimarron	802
Portland	Amphitheater	749
Oak Creek	Dallas / Twin Peaks	579
Ice Park	Camp Bird Road	558
Dallas/Corbett	Dallas / Twin Peaks	512
Blue Lakes, Yankee Boy	Blue Lakes / Blaine	504
Hayden, Ironton	Camp Bird Road	450
Courthouse, W. Fork	Cimarron	429
Horsethief	Dexter / Difficulty Creek / Lower Horsethief	429
Middle Fork	Cimarron	426
Colorado Boy	Ironton / Nordic	411
Wetterhorn Basin	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek	401
Dexter	Dexter / Difficulty Creek / Lower Horsethief	296
Ironton Ski (Nordic)	Ironton / Nordic	288
Baldy	Baldy System	263
Richmond	Camp Bird Road	199
Old Twin Peaks	Dallas / Twin Peaks	196
Cutler	Baldy System	181
Hayden (Camp Bird TH)	Camp Bird Road / Ironton	172
Gray Copper	Ironton / Nordic	167
Mt. Sneffels/Blue Lakes Pass	Blue Lakes / Blaine	108
Silvershield	Dallas / Twin Peaks	98
Courthouse, Cow Creek	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek	No Report
Stealey Mt. - Cow Creek Rd.	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek	No Report
Courthouse, Cow Creek	Courthouse / Stealey Mountain / Cow Creek	No Report

For a complete monthly summary of all trail use data, click the link below (note - you must have Adobe Reader to view these files):
Monthly Summary of Recorded Trail Traffic - 2005

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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.
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