EL PASO COUNTY — The summer season is underway at The Incline and there are some adjustments to the free reservation system. There have been rumors about a decrease to the number of slots available each day. "Any small changes that happen in regard to rules or regulations or policies or even trail conditions can create a lot of questions from the public,” said Park Ranger Supervisor, Gillian Rossi." She says what is happening is more of an adjustment, rather than change.
The total number of people allowed on the Incline each day is 1,125. The number is portioned out every half hour through the day. Analysis of reservation trends from previous month show some times far busier than others.
"What we've done is we've increased the amount of reservations available in the morning and we've decreased the amount available in the afternoon,” said Rossi, “So we're still allowing the same amount of people to hike The Incline, just at different times during the day."A lot more people want spots in the morning because it cooler and they avoid the dangerous afternoon thunderstorms common to the area during the summer.
The hiker limit and reservation system were adopted as a compromise to keep The Incline open during the pandemic. Whether it will remain when the pandemic eases, has not yet been discussed.
