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Adoption Status: ADOPTED
11,104 acres (17.3 square miles)
How to get there
The Hay Park roadless area is located 5 miles southwest of
Basalt and 6 miles southeast of Carbondale. The primary access to the area is
from Dinkle Lake.
- From
Basalt, go west on State Highway (SH) 82 to Emma, and take Sopris Creek Road
(County Road 7) to West Sopris Creek Road (CR 6). Follow this to the
Sopris/Prince Creek divide, turn south, and head to Dinkle Lake on FS 311. This
location can also be reached from Carbondale via Prince Creek Road (CR 5).
- From
Dinkle Lake, enter the area on foot or mountain bike via the Thomas Lakes Trail
(1958). This trail leads up to the Thomas Lakes and beyond to Mount Sopris. The
Hay Park Trail (1957) branches off of the Thomas Lakes Trail to the southeast,
crossing Hay Park and East Sopris Creek on its way to the Capitol Creek Road
(CR 9).
- To
reach Hay Park Trail (1957) from the east, take SH 82 east from Basalt to Old
Snowmass. Turn south on Snowmass Creek Road (CR 11) and bear right onto Capitol
Creek Road (CR 9) at the fork. Look for the trailhead parking area on your right, after the road
becomes dirt.
- The
USGS 7 1⁄2’ quads for the Hay Park roadless area are Mount Sopris, Basalt, and
Capitol Peak.
Setting
The Hay Park RA occupies a large, mid-elevation area of
rolling slopes on the northeast flanks of the massive Mount Sopris. This broad
upland shield is heavily forested with spruce/fir and impressively large aspen
stands. Many large open meadows relieve the woods and provide great views.
Gambel oak brush is also common in the lower reaches of this unit. Many lakes,
mostly small, dot the hillside.
The glacier-formed cirques of Mount Sopris dominate the
area, and enormous rock glaciers generate the streams of Nettle, Prince, and
Thomas Creeks, which flow into the Crystal River. East and West Sopris Creeks
also flow through the unit on their way to the Roaring Fork River. Elevations
range from 6,700 feet near the Crystal River to 10,492 feet on the divide
between East and West Sopris Creeks.
What’s special about it?
The Hay Park RA lies in the center of an area of heavy
recreational activity. Mount Sopris and Thomas Lakes are an extremely popular
destination for hikers and backpackers, and backcountry skiers. This is a
popular access point into the Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness Area. The Hay
Park Trail has been adopted by a local bike club, and it is a very popular
ride, particularly in the fall when the aspens turn bright yellow. The area
also receives some use by hunters.
This unit has ecological importance as a roadless buffer
between developments in the lower Crystal and Roaring Fork Valleys and the
Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness Area. Mid-elevation areas such as this are largely
unprotected on public lands, but are especially critical for wildlife that use
them as transitional zones between their high-elevation summer and
low-elevation winter ranges. A significant amount of elk calving occurs here,
and West Sopris Creek is a fishery for Colorado River cutthroat trout.
Potential threats
There was historical timber harvesting in this area,
although none has occurred recently. The area has been identified as having a
moderate potential for oil and gas deposits and had been leased in 1981 though
withdrawn 2 years later. The area is still available for leasing.
Other info
Conservation groups have identified 593 more acres of
roadless area associated with this unit, in addition to the acreage listed by
the USFS. The Hay Park RA is one of six RAs that surround the large Maroon
Bells/Snowmass Wilderness Area and create a roadless complex of over 206,000
acres (321 square miles).
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