HPRS Owner and Race Director John Lacroix has been volunteering his time as a member of the Executive Committee for the Fix CRUS Coalition since mid summer of 2023; “CRUS” being the Colorado Recreational Use Statute. The Fix CRUS Coalition is a diverse group of organizations committed to protecting and expanding free public access to private and public land in Colorado. Their goal is to strengthen the state’s recreational use statue and provide stronger liability protection for landowners.

What Will SB-58 Do to Protect Access?

SB-58 would update the Colorado Recreational Use Statute (CRUS) to provide more clarity and simplifying sign-posting requirements for landowners to better protect themselves from legal liability for accidents on their land. CRUS applies only to landowners who grant free access to their land for outdoor recreation like hiking, climbing, and mountain biking.

Specifically, SB-58 includes the following provisions:

• • Clarification that landowners do not need to warn visitors about known hazards that are off-trail or in non-open areas.
• • Simplified requirement to post one warning sign at the access point that protects them from liability related to inherent recreation risks, weather, terrain, wildlife, mining, and agricultural hazards.
• • Updates to the list of recreation activities covered under CRUS.
• • Clarification that landowners may designate access points, trails, and routes open to the public, as well as the time and type of recreation activities allowed or not allowed.

Many landowners lost confidence in the protections of the CRUS and are closing their land to the public.

For many years, the CRUS worked to protect landowners and incentivize open access for hiking, climbing, and biking. However, a recent lawsuit demonstrated that the current version of the CRUS leaves landowners vulnerable to liability for recreational injuries on their property if they fail to adequately warn them of all known hazards.

This development created a growing chilling effect as landowners, concerned about liability and lawsuits, closed access to their land, including areas where they previously allowed access. Five Colorado 14ers, dozens of trails, and hundreds of acres of land have closed to the public, with many more at risk of closing in the future.

John got involved after recognizing that this could ultimately affect trail and ultrarunning in our state. The reality began to set in that many private land owners and public land managers were becoming more hesitant to allow our events passage across their lands or to be hosted on their lands entirely. Seeing as so many trail races in our state utilize private parcels and trails, it became ever imperative that someone from the trail running community get involved and advocate. John’s efforts included helping with the wording of the bill to ensure it includes “trail running” as a recognized activity and is congruent with other considerations such as laws pertaining to trespassing, and he also testified in person to the State Senate Judiciary Committee as a concerned member of the trail and ultra community.

We are excited to share that the coalition’s bill, SB-58, passed through the House on Friday in a unanimous vote of support. It is now headed to the Governor’s desk, who has already expressed his support. FIX CRUS expects to have a formal signing ceremony in the next 7-8 days.

This victory is getting widespread news coverage, with stories in the Denver Post, Colorado Sun, and other outlets helping to get the message out.