James Peak Parking now is PAY PARKING

[glacierPaul]

Hello all,
The parking area is almost totally complete. I have the signs, and am waiting on the pay envelopes. I have 2 porta-potties, a 50 gallon trash and a 50 gallon recycle can, the dog waste bag dispenser, concrete is poured, a fence around the potties, fee pole and all the parking space poles, have put down recycled asphalt (need more too), and have started the erosion control process on the hill behind the parking area.
Had a responce to coloradokevin, the parking and 3/4 mile hike up is all private property, so there is(was) trash/feces pretty much from anywhere people parked all the way into FS lands. Since I have had the potties and trash/recycle, there has been an absolute difference made. I have the trash/recycle cans fill up every 6 days! And the potties are being used, and not by just my customers, as they are open to the public. And I do hike the trail weekly and pick up various stuff, as well as people bringing down stuff and telling me thanks for having the trash can. I even had a family of 5 all bring back about half a grocery bag each, of trash/water bottles, and I gave each of the kids $1 and refunded Dad his parking fee, they were in shock, but I told them this was the first time I have seen a "family" being pro-active together and I wanted to reinforce the lesson they were teaching their kids. I certainly think my venture is having alot to do with helping the situation up here.
I will post when the project is totally complete, for those interested in seeing the completed project!
Thanks, Paul

[glacierPaul]

Forgot to mention we had rain, hail, groppel, and SNOW yesterday and last night. This morning we are getting more hail, and rain. Winter is coming!!
Paul

[gitsumpottery]

I will make sure to park over on the Winter Park side from now on. Pay parking is ridiculous.

[Alpinista]

While my preference would be for the USFS to purchase the land, at least Paul is providing a service needed by both the local community and hikers/climbers, and I think it's reasonable for him to be compensated for providing that service. Given the issues with parking and waste in the area, a more common response would have been for someone to buy the lot and close it off entirely. I applaud Paul for taking a pro-active approach to solving the problem. He's also been spending a lot of his own time at the lot (granted to make sure the fee gets collected), but he's been very friendly and polite and excited to explain his plans for improving the lot. If the USFS had done this then farmed it out to a concessionaire (like Brainiard Lake) we definitely would be paying more. And again, MUCH better than one or more locals cutting off ALL access to public land and treating it like their private park or holding the public up for tens of millions of dollars.

[Scott P]

And again, MUCH better than one or more locals cutting off ALL access to public land and treating it like their private park or holding the public up for tens of millions of dollars.

Agreed. The parking fee seems reasonable for private land. I would much rather have a small parking fee than have access blocked like so many other property owners in Colorado do.

[George James]

Mr. Johnson,
Hey Paul! I hope you and your family are doing well. I parked at your lot a few weekends ago, and it was a pleasure to meet you! It wasn't finished yet when I visited, and I look forward to coming back sometime to see the progress, it sounds like it's gonna look great! Thanks so much for trying to take care of that beautiful area, it seems to me that you're doing a much better job of it than anyone else is.

Most Sincerely, George James

If you want to hike Lames Peak...

LAMES PEAK!?!? Now that's just not cool. I think that James Peak is awesome!
With a name like that, how could it not be!!!

[Chicago Transplant]

Hello all,
The parking area is almost totally complete. I have the signs, and am waiting on the pay envelopes. I have 2 porta-potties, a 50 gallon trash and a 50 gallon recycle can, the dog waste bag dispenser, concrete is poured, a fence around the potties, fee pole and all the parking space poles, have put down recycled asphalt (need more too), and have started the erosion control process on the hill behind the parking area.

Wow! Great work Paul, it has been a busy summer for you indeed. I was up there in June and got to talk to you for a bit after skiing James. I was encouraged by your proactive attitiude and am glad to see how far you have come in 2 months. You are definitely creating a new standard, and I hope other land owners follow your example. You definitely care about this area and it shows! Thanks!

PS- George James, I agree, James Peak is anything but Lame, all anyone has to do is just climb one of the east facing couloirs to know that this mountain holds some challenging ascent (and descent ) lines!

[cheeseburglar]

Reminds me of the old saying:
There are no lame mountains, but there are lame climbers and they are really tough! - author unknown