Several instances of vandalism were reported on local trails this week.
The Park City area is home to hundreds of miles of world-class hiking and biking trails. Unfortunately, Mountain Trails Foundation executive Director Lora Smith told KPCW there were several reports of vandalism this week.
Smith said fences were cut in the Land of Oz area of Round Valley and spray paint was cleaned up at Quarry Mountain. She said it’s important for trail users to always respect private property.
“That is private land,” Smith said. “It has a conservation easement, but it is private land. The landowner grazes out there. There was also some spray paint out in the Quarry Mountain area. There’s lots of spray paint, Mountain Trails spent several hours cleaning that up.”
Smith said those two incidents, and a third involving someone ripping up monument plants on the 9k trail, could also be a case of people taking trail maintenance into their own hands. Monument plants are native and should not be removed, and trails should only be worked on by official trail staff and trained volunteers.
“Kind of an odd thing to happen, we sort of think maybe it’s vigilante efforts,” she said. “We want to just remind people that our trails are a community asset and there are people taking care of them. Mountain Trails, Summit Land Conservancy, Utah Open Lands, the city. If you ever see something out there that’s bothering you, just give one of us a call, you don’t need to try and go fix things yourself, that usually causes a little bit more consternation than it does solving a problem.”
Smith added that due to the sheer size of Park City’s trail system, they can’t always monitor what happens on every trail. She said Mountain Trails and other trail organizations appreciate the public’s help, but if there are any questions about trail maintenance, please contact an official before acting alone.
