Trail Possibilities
Reroute Options
The Beta: Snodgrass Trail Access
In 2019, the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) initiated a five-year trail planning process aimed at improving public access and land stewardship. Between 2019 and 2022, this process involved extensive public engagement—including open houses, comment periods, stakeholder discussions, and coordination with land managers.
Throughout this time, Snodgrass Trail #590 emerged as a top priority for the community—a critical route needed for improved recreational access and sustainable year-round public lands management. Despite strong public interest, when CBMBA’s short-term plan entered the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process in 2022 as the North Valley Trails Project, Snodgrass Trail was inexplicably excluded from analysis. In effect, the trail was denied its opportunity for formal evaluation—it never got its day in court.
Yet, community demand for Snodgrass Trail remains strong. We believe it is time for the Forest Service to revisit and urgently assess this trail as part of its commitment to public access and responsible land use. As Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, famously said, decisions should reflect “the greatest good for the greatest number in the long run.”
The public should not be held hostage by commercial interests or private land constraints. Snodgrass Trail should be accessible to all, in every season, with proper management, safe access, and environmental responsibility.
The map below is an example of the proposals CBMBA presented and engaged stakeholders and the public with during that planning phase.
- The green trails exist.
- The dark blue trail is the existing Snodgrass Trail #590 as it goes in and out of private property.
- The yellow trails are proposed options for rerouting Snodgrass off of private property (private is noted on the map). They are hypothetical trails, ’spaghetti on a map,’ for the purposes of visualizing public lands access.
- The turquoise trail was another proposed trail from the top of the existing Snodgrass Road to realize a public lands reroute alternative from a highly used road, providing another recreation amenity in a high-use area.
CBMBA’s Proposal
This plan was submitted and ultimately denied; however, the actual reroute will likely look different. Let’s keep our focus honed on the fact that we want and need a reroute, and the delineation on the ground will be determined in time.
Petition Drive
Our petition is designed to unite individuals and organizations passionate about the Snodgrass Trail, ensuring decision-makers understand the need for immediate reroute actions through robust community backing.
I try to get to Crested Butte every year to ride and hike. I never quite understood why it was closed at times but now that I do, it’s a shame. Let’s do the reroute as Snodgress is a family favorite.
