A six-week public comment period on options to improve the parking and access at Penny Hot Springs near Redstone is now underway.
In addition to an online survey, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails will host several outreach events in the coming weeks to explain the potential changes to community members and seek their feedback, starting with an Aug. 29 open house at the Third Street Center in Carbondale. The event, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., will feature a brief presentation at 6:45 p.m. Attendees are also welcome to simply stop by and spend as much time viewing the materials as they’d like. Staff will be available to answer questions.
OST staff will also have a booth at the Sept. 2 First Friday in downtown Carbondale and set up onsite at Penny Hot Springs on Sept. 3, 8 and 14. The survey is open through Sept. 19.
Two alternatives for addressing the parking area and access paths to the hot springs are under consideration. One leaves the parking much as it is, but focuses on enhancements to the steep and, during the winter, slick pathways between the parking area and the springs, located along the Crystal River north of Redstone. The second option proposes improved trail access, as well as riverbank and parking improvements. A short, stone retaining wall would be required to create a level parking platform and prevent further erosion of the parking surface. A benefit of constructing a wall is the reduction of the slope steepness on the downhill side, adjacent to the river and hot springs, which allows for some degree of riverbank restoration to occur.
Potential changes to the parking area and improvements to the trail access were envisioned in a management plan for Penny Hot Springs that was adopted in 2020. The goal is to address the safety and accessibility challenges within this constrained CDOT pullout. These were two of the community’s top concerns, as identified during the management planning process.
Find the management plan, the proposals now under review, and links to the online survey (in both English and Spanish) at https://www.pitkinostprojects.com/penny-hot-springs-management.html
Contact: Jessie Young | Open Space and Trails planning and outreach manager | jessie.young@pitkincounty.com or 970-429-6169