Eldorado Canyon State Park, located just north of Boulder, Colorado, is currently requiring “Timed-Entry Vehicle Reservations” to enter the recreational area. This program requires all visitors traveling to the park on weekends and holidays this summer to make an online reservation prior to their arrival.

While this system is unique to Eldorado Canyon as a state park, some of the most famous national parks such as Arches, Glacier, and Rocky Mountain also have timed-entry programs. Certain parks in the United States are seeing significant levels of visitation in the summer months, a trend that has yet to falter since the pandemic.

The number of outdoor recreation participants has steadily increased over the last decade with a significant spike during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Outdoor Participation Trends Report from the Outdoor Foundation says that more than 160 million Americans participated in at least one outdoor activity in 2020, about 7.1 million more than the previous year. About 57.8 million participants were hikers.

Kelly Tchilian, a resident of Longmont, recalled her experience with Colorado’s crowded parks and hiking areas in recent years.

“The lines to get in are bananas,” said Tchilian, “It’s a bunch of cars idling for a long time, there’s nowhere to park and the trails are crowded.”

Eldorado Canyon State Park was no exception. According to John Carson, the Eldorado Canyon State Park Manager, the world-famous rock climbing spot saw extensive amounts of visitation during the pandemic and has continued since.

With just 200 parking spots to accommodate over 500,000 annual visitors, the park previously dealt with a heavy turnover rate by forcing tourists to turn back into town until a parking space opened up. The frequency of car turnover on the dirt road caused an increase in dust particles, and Eldorado Springs residents began bringing up concerns about traffic and air quality.

“Health and safety is a priority, that was part of why we tried the reservations system,” said Carson, “People already make reservations for camping and have been doing that for years…but it’s a pilot project, not permanent.”

Air quality was not the only safety concern facing the employees of Eldorado Canyon State Park. Thomas Houchin, a park ranger at Eldorado Canyon State Park, explains that the intense traffic in the single-road town makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to enter.

“We have an average of twenty-five emergencies a year. If we have a line backed behind the bridge… it’s a safety issue,” said Houchin.

Houchin says one of the biggest drawbacks of the timed-entry system is the lack of knowledge about the program. While the park makes an effort to advertise at community events and educate the public about its program, there is still a fair share of tourists who show up without a reservation and are forced to turn around at the gate.

“How do you get the word out to the world? I have people from Brazil, from Africa, from Canada [who have to be turned away…],” Houchin said.

With the implementation of a timedentry reservation system, Eldorado Canyon State Park has seen a positive impact on their park.

“The park is more enjoyable, the park is safer,” said Houchin, “It’s good that people are using the resource, it’s good for people’s mental health… You have to have permits for a lot of things, it doesn’t mean they’re taking the land away from you.”

To make a reservation or contact Eldorado Canyon State Park, please visit their website at https://cpw.state.co.us/ placestogo/parks/EldoradoCanyon.