Land managers overseeing Colorado Springs’ popular recreation areas started the week hoping for a break from rain.

That is needed, they say, for proper assessment of a washed-out road into one of the city’s premier parks and also for one of its most beloved trails: Seven Bridges Trail.

Ahead of the weekend, the U.S. Forest Service announced closing the trail of wooden bridges, some of which were submerged by the creek that swelled amid last week’s stormy weather.

It’s possible Seven Bridges reopens soon after the creek lowers, “but it depends on how the structures are affected,” Pikes Peak District Ranger Carl Bauer said Monday morning. “They may be unstable.”

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He added: “The abutments are getting washed out terribly. So we won’t know the extent of the damage until the water recedes.”

Same goes for North Cheyenne Canyon Road, said Scott Abbott, the city’s regional parks, trails and open space manager.

After the washout reported last week, the road into North Cheyenne Cañon Park remains closed “for the foreseeable future,” Abbott said. That’s while the Parks Department awaits word from engineers.

“It is too early in the assessment process, as we still have a good amount of water coming down from the watershed,” Abbott said. “That water needs to subside before engineers can get a good, clear look at the future fix.”

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What’s certain: The portion of road that collapsed, leaving a gaping hole in a traffic lane, will need to be replaced. Abbott expected the assessment would be focused “not only within the failure point, but as well as the entirety of the road,” he said. “That’s in the hands of our roadway engineers to see if we have any situation anywhere else.”

In the meantime, Abbott pointed to “a significant issue with folks parking in undesignated areas” along Gold Camp Road entering the other side of North Cheyenne Cañon. The road is for residential traffic only — “a safety precaution,” a previous news release explained, “to alleviate congestion on the narrow, steep road since this road now becomes the only way in and out of North Cheyenne Cañon.”

People on foot and bike are also being asked to stay off North Cheyenne Canyon Road.

Asked if the park’s closure could lead to crowding at other outdoor destinations, Abbott said “it’s very difficult to forecast.” He recognized “capacity challenges across the system as it is. If one very popular park is not available, we have no way of tracking that data.”

As for the rainy week’s impacts at other parks and open spaces, “early reports are the rain was slow enough that a lot of our trails handled it pretty well,” Abbott said.

But by Monday morning rangers were still getting eyes on trails, he said. As they were around Fountain Creek and Bear Creek regional parks and other lands overseen by El Paso County.

“We are still assessing the parks and trails, but at this point we do not have any significant impacts on county parks and trails from the most recent heavy rains,” Todd Marts, county parks executive director, wrote in an email.