ShareTrails | Rio Grande National Forest OSV Plan Will Determine Future of Millions of Acres for Snowmobiling

Scoping has opened for the Rio Grande National Forest Winter Use Travel Management Plan in Colorado. Comments are accepted through June 14, 2024. You can read the specific plan details. The USFS is beginning the process to create an OSV use map and recreation opportunity spectrum (ROS) zones. Once these maps are established and published OSV use will only be allowed in the specified motorized areas. Please look at the maps below to see if there are areas you ride in that are being proposed as non-motorized. The plan is potentially looking to designate officially approximately 1,382,276 acres (74 percent) of Rio Grande National Forest lands for public cross-country over-snow vehicle use.

Full Briefing:

260 miles of permitted groomed motorized routes.

23 miles of non-motorized trails that are groomed for Nordic skiing using motorized equipment. These are not considered for public over-snow vehicle use.

Minimum snow depth of 12 inches required for over-snow vehicle use on designated roads, trails and areas.
Twelve inches of snow would be the minimum required depth for over-snow motorized use
regardless of the underlying surface. The depth may be adjusted following a site-specific
analysis.

Snowcat grooming on permitted routes would be permitted to occur when the average unpacked snow depth is equal to or greater than 18 inches. Site-specific snow depth could vary following site-specific analysis and evaluation

Should require designations of areas permitted for over snow vehicle use.

Impacts to big game should not be restricted to designated routes or dates of use.

Click through the slides below to see the Desired Winter Recreation Opportunity Spectrum throughout the forest districts. The boundary is the dark green line. Everything in dark green and brown will be off limits to OSV use.

According to OSV ROS protocol the area near the town of Crestone Colorado should be open to motorized use. You can see the requirements in the table below.