Around Trinidad, people have come to recognize Crystal Dreiling as the face of Fishers Peak State Park.

“When I see people, they don’t say, ‘Hi, Crystal, how are you doing?'” said Dreiling, the park’s manager. “They say, ‘When are you going to get that peak open?'”

They can stop asking now.

Four years after Colorado’s 42nd state park was established around the iconic mountain, a trail is open to the summit. Colorado Parks and Wildlife made the announcement Monday, with a photo of Gov. Jared Polis cutting a ribbon atop the peak above 9,600 feet.

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Finally, people have a defined route up the landmark long seen at the center of Las Animas County’s logo.

They are people who’ve looked on from afar — drivers gazing upon the state’s highest point on the east side of Interstate 25.

And they are people living below — people who for generations knew their town’s cathedral-like backdrop to be held in private hands, off limits to them.

That changed in 2019 thanks to a collaboration between Colorado Parks and Wildlife and multiple conservation groups. Planning for Colorado’s second-largest state park (19,200 acres) began in earnest, with a governor-backed priority to build a summit path pronto.

The day has come.

“I never thought I’d see it in my lifetime,” said Jenn Green.

She’s been around Trinidad since 1994, living in close view of Fishers Peak. Since 2021, she’s been directing Trinidad Trails Alliance, a group catalyzed by the possibilities that have expanded fast around the park.

More than 11 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails debuted last year along the slopes looking out to the Sangre de Cristo range, Spanish Peaks and promontories spotting New Mexico over the state line. Now the trail network adds the coveted piece: the steep, rocky approach up and over Fishers’ cliffs to its grassy, rolling top.

It’s not for everyone, Dreiling cautioned.

The out-and-back journey covers about 16 miles and more than 3,000 feet of elevation. The fit hiker — bikes are allowed up to a certain point — will need to start early, with designated campsites yet to be established along the trail.

The climb follows “pretty peaceful, doable slopes,” Dreiling said. But it still requires a full day, along with all of the essentials associated with long outings in the wild (proper boots, clothes, water, snacks, etc.).

It’s easy to imagine some waiting out winter. If so, they might have to wait a little longer: The trail’s upper three miles to the summit will annually close for peregrine falcon nesting from March 15 through the end of July.

Dreiling expects a “trickle” rather than a “surge” to the summit. That’s preferred and was part of the thinking to open the trail, she said.

“The biggest thing is, if we don’t open it this year, then people might not get up there until Aug. 1,” she said.

People have waited long enough.

Green bushwhacked her way to the summit once with the OK from a previous owner of the mountain and ranch around it. That was an experience few have had over the years.

Under the manager before Colorado Parks and Wildlife, “it became even more prohibitive to go there,” Green said. “So this final move, for it to become public and accessible like this, it blows everybody’s mind.”

Maybe not everybody.

Like any new development, this one comes with “detractors,” said local advocate Joe Kozlowicz.

“Certain, longtime locals that prefer (Trinidad) remain a quiet town. They’d rather not see it turn into a busy, tourist destination,” he said. “Quite frankly, the town desperately needs that outside money.”

Historically tied to mining, the local economy has seen its share of booms and busts. Trinidad leaned into recreational marijuana upon its legalization, but those revenues have been dropping amid the industry’s spread north and south into New Mexico.

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Fishers Peak State Park has been something like a “North Star,” Green said — guiding the town toward the state’s outdoor recreation industry that reportedly spurred $13.9 billion in spending last year.

An analysis estimated the state park could impact the local economy to the tune of $14.7 million annually. That was an estimate within a broad set of suggestions and ideas published this year, a plan called the Las Animas County Outdoor Recreation and Economic Impact Study.

The plan’s creation hints at local momentum, along with the city government’s creation of the Office of Outdoor Recreation in 2021.

While identifying more trails and destinations across the region’s rolling, river-cut landscape, that study was meant to account for other gaps and needs, said the Office of Outdoor Recreation’s Director Jared Chatterley.

“If we’re going to have this many more people coming down, what kind of infrastructure do we need to support that?” Chatterley said.

Kozlowicz sensed the momentum from his previous home in Denver. Encouraged by Fishers Peak — a “total game-changer,” he called it — as well as the rising gravel grinding scene, he opened Trinidad’s second bike shop last year.

While encouraged, “it’s going to take county and city elected officials who are able to enact real change,” Kozlowicz said.

Politically, he gathers mixed feelings around town. He sits on Trinidad’s Lodging Tax Advisory Board, the de facto tourism board doling out funds for marketing and events. A ballot question asked to raise those funds this past election. Its failure might suggest voters’ feelings toward a tourist economy.

There’s indeed “pushback,” Chatterley said.

“In their mind, we’re turning it into Vail, we’re turning it into Aspen,” he said. “There’s a lot of PR involved in trying to explain that some growth is good, particularly if it’s well planned and managed. It’s what makes for better schools, better roads, better quality of life.”

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Fishers Peak “kind of opens up Pandora’s box,” Green said. The Colorado native moved to Trinidad nearly 20 years ago for the quiet, small-town experience.

The state park’s master plan foresees 80-plus miles of trails. Estimates place future visitation around 175,000 every year, about 80% of that non-local. Fewer than 9,000 people live in Trinidad.

But Green praised the park’s planning team. Under the master plan, the vast majority of the 19,200 acres are to be undeveloped.

The length and physical requirement of the summit trail was intentional, Dreiling said.

“We want people to get up there, but we don’t want it to be overrun,” she said. “We intentionally did not build a parking lot at the base of Fishers Peak. If you’re going to get up there, it’s not an easy hike.”

Those who do will be rewarded, Green said.

“When you get to the top, you have a new view on Colorado that is truly unlike any other,” she said. “It’s a brand new perspective on our state.”