Major changes are coming to a major hub of outdoor recreation in Colorado. 

The U.S. Forest Service recently announced finalizing a plan for fire mitigation and trails around 3,026 acres surrounding Frisco — an area people around town and Summit County have known as the Backyard. 

The scenic swath of White River National Forest encompasses Mount Royal, Miners Creek, Rainbow Lake, Ophir Mountain and Gold Hill. Those are among sites listed in the plan that envisions a 41-mile trail network, comprising new trails to be built and old ones to be closed or rerouted. 

Also, the plan authorizes 10 miles of trail to be groomed in the winter for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking. Grooming will occur under a special use permit with the town of Frisco, which has maintained and built trails at nearby Peninsula Recreation Area over the years. 

The Backyard plan foresees an extension of that arrangement at the Peninsula, where today’s popular trails were similarly realized in conjunction with fire mitigation. 

Similarly at the Backyard, “there was always a lot more potential for recreation,” Frisco Nordic Center and Trails Manager Pete Swenson said in a previous interview. 

He called the Forest Service’s plan “vital to Frisco’s future” ー both in terms of recreation and safety. 

The Backyard “is our front door to thousands of acres of public lands,” Swenson said in a recent news release, “and a cornerstone of our wildfire resilience and protecting water quality.”

Of the 3,026 acres under the project’s scope, 1,576 acres are slated for timber thinning and removal “that will reduce wildfire risk to the community while balancing the need to provide high-quality, sustainable recreational experiences in one of the most heavily visited places in the White River National Forest,” Sam Massman, acting district ranger, wrote in his final decision notice.

The protocol “finding of no significant impact” document notes 251,000 visits to the Backyard every year. Some of those regular visitors have raised concerns about tree removal that they see impacting the recreation experience, elk habitat and erosion. 

In his decision, Massman detailed “a more nuanced approach” to mitigation accounting for more popular areas where “treatment prescriptions were modified to preserve more of the existing forest.” In terms of wildlife and hydrology, Massman determined “long-term beneficial effects will occur as habitat quality improves.” 

Another concern has regarded e-bikes, which are allowed at the Peninsula Recreation Area. That will not be the case in the Backyard, with Massman citing “a local community that is divided on adding e-bikes to additional backcountry trails.” 

The plan details “redesigning and improving” the Peaks/Zach’s Stop trailhead and consolidating parking at the upper and lower Miners Creek trailheads. Reroutes and restoration are due for the Peaks and Rainbow Lake trails, among several others. 

In a previous interview, Swenson mentioned a “considerable upgrade” for the trail up Mount Royal, one of Frisco’s most recognized promontories. Swenson described the current route as “short, direct and sporty.”

“I think when we’re done, it’s going to become something that’s going to be on the national radar,” he said. “When you’re driving across I-70, I think people are going to say, ‘We gotta stop and hike Mount Royal.'”

Work is set to start this summer on the broader project, which “will be completed in phases over several years,” according to the Forest Service.