MANITOU SPRINGS — After a five-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manitou Incline reopened to hikers Thursday.
Earlier in the week, the cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, along with the Forest Service, agreed on a new reservation system to allow people to reserve a free time to hike the Incline.
Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation staff were at the base to check people in for their reserved times, giving them wristbands to show they were allowed up the incline.
Hikers who took advantage of the opening Thursday said while the online reservations seem to work, volume on the Incline could still be a problem.
"It was pretty effective in a sense. I could see how people might get frustrated if there's like a high reservation volume or something like that. I don't know if it would be too busy or whatever, how long the wait time would be when it is really busy. It worked out pretty well and I'm a fan of it," said Sam Schulker.
Reservations are free and available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parks staff on the trail said they have yet to see any major objections to the reservation system.
