The U.S. Forest Service Pikes Peak Ranger District has asked partner organizations to help share information regarding unauthorized bike jump structures that were recently identified by contractors in the Mays Peak area during a survey for an upcoming prescribed burn. The USFS confirmed that the survey was conducted for fire mitigation , and that identifying unauthorized trail features was incidental to that work. While the specific location was not recorded, the area lies within the Bear Creek Watershed Influence Zone (WIZ), a landscape managed with heightened sensitivity.
Image from the 2015 NEPA study in Jones Park
MedWheel reminds all trail users that federal regulations prohibit the construction of features on National Forest System lands without authorization. The Ranger has asked us to highlight the specific regulation:
CFR 261.10 – Occupancy and use.
“The following are prohibited: (a) Constructing, placing, or maintaining any kind of road, trail, structure, fence, enclosure, communication equipment, significant surface disturbance, or other improvement on National Forest System lands or facilities without a special-use authorization, contract, or approved operating plan when such authorization is required.”
The Ranger has requested that the unauthorized structures in this area be removed.
Why this area matters
The Bear Creek Watershed Influence Zone includes the Jones Park drainage and represents the only remaining wild habitat for the Greenback Cutthroat Trout, a federally listed threatened species and Colorado’s state fish. Management direction for this area was established through a formal NEPA process, culminating in a Final Decision Notice in 2015 after many years of study, community engagement, and negotiations. At multiple points during this process, full closure of the area was a real possibility.
The Final Decision Notice is not perfect – but it reflects a balance between watershed protection, fire mitigation, and appropriate recreation. Activities that fall outside that framework create cumulative impacts and increase the risk of broader access restrictions for all users.
About trail features and future opportunities
MedWheel members desire more opportunities for creative, engaging riding features, and the terrain in our area naturally lends itself to them. At the same time, the Bear Creek WIZ is the absolute worst place for unapproved features, because of its ecological sensitivity, previous legal challenges, and intense, ongoing scrutiny. For these reasons, unapproved features created in the Bear Creek WIZ are not only inappropriate, they are unsustainable. Unauthorized features in this area are likely to be discovered and removed. They undermine trust between recreation users and the Forest Service, which is tasked with balancing recreation use and resource protection. Building jump features without authorization anywhere on National Forest lands, and especially in this area, increases the risk of broader access restrictions.
The good news is that momentum is building toward better, purpose-built opportunities in appropriate locations, including the planned Pikeview Quarry bike park, which will provide a legal, durable outlet for gravity-oriented riding. Features built through approved processes are more likely to last, be maintained, and avoid conflicts that put access at risk.
Shared responsibility
Protecting access in complex landscapes like this depends on collective stewardship. Following established processes helps ensure that riding opportunities expand in places where they can succeed, while protecting sensitive areas that have already required decades of effort to keep open.
Thank you for helping keep our trails sustainable and our access secure.