The popular Rob’s Trail above Sun Peak in the Basin will be closed again this winter. Vandalism on the Pickle Ball Courts has staff urging users to play nice and the results of a community recreation survey are being compiled and will be presented to the board later this month.
Last winter, Vail closed a section of Rob’s Trail due to concerns with avalanche safety. Snyderville Basin Recreation Director, Brian Hanton says finding an alternative access is complicated and he’s not sure it can be done this year.
“There’s a few different property owners we have to work with to get the easements, so it’s not as easy as what we hoped when we first looked at it. But our trails team is out there looking. I know Sun Peak is one area, who I think they would be supportive of it. We just have to figure out the route and staffing to get that project done.”
Hanton says people could be cited for trespassing on Canyons terrain if they choose to ignore the postings.
“I think it’s similar to what you see in the ski resorts, where people drop back and go under the lines. I mean, unfortunately, I think it’s a risk they take. As long as it’s posted well. So, hopefully nothing happens there, and we don’t have any issues. But, yeah, we’ll still have it posted up there as far as closed in the winter.”
The Willow Creek Courts are scheduled for resurfacing projects at the end of July. They’ll do the two basketball courts, two tennis courts and eight pickleball courts. Hanton says it will take about a week to get all of it done.
Vandals recently dismantled the netting on the pickleball courts and Hanton says damage due to vandalism is an unfortunate occurrence in all the basin parks.
“The nets are left out there in the park area. And, sometimes they’re left on the courts with nobody around. Not sure of the time of the day when it happened. This is the first it’s happened because we’ve had them out there for two years. We have vandalism that happens throughout our parks and it’s unfortunately part of the world we deal with.”
Open space and trails were the top priorities identified in a recent survey done by Basin Rec. Results are not public yet but Hanton says the outcomes are very similar to the survey results from 2012.
“The community showed over a 90 percent approval rating for what we’re doing. And, then we asked, what improvements could we make in facilities. Or what improvements could we make in programing. And the response was more, we just want more.”
Respondents did not show support for more ice sheets but Hanton says they are pursuing partnerships with the private Black Rock developers to address those needs.
They’ll meet with the Basin Rec Board on July 31st and will present the survey results. They’ll make it available to the public at that time.
