Your Ride Counts

Every time you hit the trail, you’re doing more than just enjoying your public spaces – you’re helping shape the future of cycling in Steamboat Springs. Tucked beside trees or buried near trailheads, trail counters are hiding in plain sight, quietly logging each pass. This data helps trail management partners preserve the routes we love, plan for potential obstacles, and push for more investment in trail infrastructure. Your ride really does count – in more ways than one.

In the thick of its eleventh year, Routt County Riders’ trail counter program is more robust than ever before. But what exactly is a trail counter? Commonly mistaken for game cameras, the trail counters we use are motion-sensored and will only detect movement when an object passes by. RCR employs two different types of these counters – infrared and magnetic. Infrared trail counters are mounted to trees and detect any movement, whether it be from hikers, bikers, wildlife, or the occasional (and pesky) swaying branch. This type of counter is helpful on popular multi-use trailheads, where we collect the overall daily usage from all types of user-groups (think Core Trail, Blackmer, Spring Creek). Magnetic counters detect moving objects with ferrous metal content (i.e., bike chains, cassettes, disc brakes). In essence, they’re sophisticated metal detectors, living in the ground and hidden under rocks, on trails where bikes are popular (think NPR, Grouse, BTR). These counters give us an idea of how much bike traffic we can expect on any given day. Some very popular multi-use trails (think Flash of Gold, Beall) will have both an infrared and a magnetic counter placed. By comparing these two data sets, we can visualize the use in bike traffic versus other user-group traffic and estimate the impact of the cycling community on certain trails. Each counter provides historical and specific data sets which allow us to make informed decisions surrounding topics such as needs for trail connections, anticipated maintenance for RCR and our partners, and possible user conflicts on popular trails, to name a few.

The trail counter program receives its funding through the City of Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation department in partnership with Routt County Riders. “We have been proud to partner with our local land managers since 2014 and collect trail data that can help inform decisions. Our trail counter program has been built out from a volunteer effort [and has since moved] to professional staff running the program with an established set of protocols [for more accurate data collection],” says RCR Board President Craig Frithsen. Currently, RCR oversees 25 active counters on 18 different trails around Steamboat. All counters are closely monitored throughout the summer season for possible data interruptions. Around five years ago, RCR began monitoring a few counters year-round to collect data in popular winter zones as well. “Trail data gives us information to direct resources to trails and trail networks,” Craig explains. “It informs us of usage trends and helps plan for the future. RCR has a robust presence on the trails through our Ambassador Program, and through our staff and board being avid trail users. Our experience with timing and placement of counters is critical to collecting both broad and accurate data sets.” Interested in diving more into the numbers? You can read our 2024 Trail Counter Report here. 

What should you do if you see a trail counter? Say hi and be on your way! If a trail counter looks out of place or tampered with, please report it to Programs Manager Lucy Winslow at lucy@routtcountyriders.org. 

To support this program and others, join RCR as a member.

Lucy Winslow
Events and Programs Manager
lucy@routtcountyriders.org