Tickets at castle wood canyon

I went climbing at castlewood today. I parked about 150 yards down the road from the west or north entrance (the enterance without the visitors center). I then rode my bike Into the park. I did this to avoid the $7 fee (a rediculous amount when you show up at 6pm and the park closes at dark). I was under the impression that this is legal as I was parked on a county road outside the jurisdiction of the park. When I returned I found a ticket that said I did not park in a valid Parking area and I did not have a park pass. I thought I did not need a park pass as I was clearly parked outside the park. I was also parked on a county road with no signage to denote parking restrictions. Also can a park ranger write tickets outside the park? What can I do? Suggestions?

Really sorry to hear of your citation, Clay. Sounds like more Obama bullshit. Big government sucking away our $$$$$. I hope you find some good advice from the legal minds at MP.

That stinks, but I would check a map before you say with certainty that you were outside the park. I live near Yosemite and know that the park extends far beyond the entrance stations. Also, an annual pass to CO state parks always seemed like a good investment to me. If you hit Castlewood or Eldo with any frequency, it's the way to go.

And yeah, I agree with Ally McBeal, this is all Obama's fault. I'm pretty sure there was no such thing as parking tickets before he showed up. I much preferred getting a boot put on my car by a private company in the Whole Foods parking lot in Boulder for parking there for the day and having to pay $75 cash on the spot to get it taken off on my birthday. Privatization beats public access every time.

I'm relatively certain that you can't park alongside the shoulder of a county road. Did you get a parking ticket or just one asking for the $7?

Clay,
If I was the Ranger, and was unfortunate enough to witness you lifting your leg over the saddle to mount your bike wearing that outfit, I would ticket you merely out of principle. :P

I agree with Chris that you should check a map to see if you were within the park limits or not. Why can't you park on the side of county roads? If there's no sign, then I'd say the default is that you can park on the side of the road. I'd be interested in hearing more.

Stupid ass argument Chris...parking in a private lot for the day, I'd say you certainly deserved to get booted. Has nothing to do with privatization or public access. Shops have the right to control access to their parking lots, but the government should not be punishing those for utilizing public land and roads in a way not inconsistent with the law. Not saying that I agree that this is more "Obama bullshit," but it is a huge difference compared to parking on a private lot.

Clay: does the ticket cite a specific violation (colorado vehicle and traffic law, for instance?), and a section violated?

Let's also consider that there is a walk-in/bike in fee for Colorado State Parks (is that just Eldo?). How do you rationalize not supporting something you clearly enjoy (@parkpass)?

I don't frequent the park enough to buy a pass ( about 2x a year) I also don't support paying $7 for entry to a "public" park especially for 2 hours time. I will look at a map to see where the actual boundaries are. And yes I will probably pay the ticket. Thanks everyone for your extremely helpful responses. Also how could Obama possibly have anything to do with a parking ticket?

I don't frequent the park enough to buy a pass ( about 2x a year) I also don't support paying $7 for entry to a "public" park especially for 2 hours time. I will look at a map to see where the actual boundaries are. And yes I will probably pay the ticket. Thanks everyone for your extremely helpful responses. Also how could Obama possibly have anything to do with a parking ticket?

This stuff pisses me off too...you shouldn't have to pay to access public land!!! Does the ticket have a section of the law you violated? Anything specific?

It's a state park. State parks cost money to get into. Deal with it.

Glenn Schuler wrote:It's a state park. State parks cost money to get into. Deal with it.

Some do, some don't. None should!

Ben Brotelho wrote: Some do, some don't. None should!

Sorry, should have used the word "most". I'd like it better if they were all free. But that's just how it is nowdays. Clay tried to sneak in and got caught. Now he's whining about getting a ticket?

Ben Brotelho wrote: Some do, some don't. None should!

So then taxes go up. Or parks go away. These things cost money to run. I'm not opposed to higher taxes to pay for parks, but for the most part, that's politically unfeasible. So, if you want the park to stay, you gotta pay...

(I'm not a CO climber, but the same general economic principles apply everywhere...)

I guess I'm just used to the Adirondack state park and the Catskill state park. No fees, no parking tickets for parking on the side of the road, ETC. Free.

"Most New York State parks charge a vehicle use fee of between $6 and $10 dollars for day use."

Hint hint...vehicle use fee, not an access fee.

Alec32 wrote: So then taxes go up. Or parks go away. These things cost money to run. I'm not opposed to higher taxes to pay for parks, but for the most part, that's politically unfeasible. So, if you want the park to stay, you gotta pay... (I'm not a CO climber, but the same general economic principles apply everywhere...)

Those are the two alternatives, taxes go up or parks go away? How about the park getting smarter with how they spend their money, or simply offering less "services". These things tend to build into little empires and become much more than they need to be. How about the park doesn't hire more rangers whose job is to give out tickets or collect fees at the gate?

Why not challenge something instead of blindly accepting it? Remember the forest service charging people to drive up Mt. Evans on a road built and maintained by c-dot to arrive at Denver Parks property? People said it had always been that way for a long time, and the poor forest service needs our money. Then people got sick of paying the forest service so it could hire rangers to ticket cars and collect fees. Now you can drive up Mt. Evans without a fee, because some people decided they wouldn't "just deal with it".

David Appelhans wrote:Now you can drive up Mt. Evans without a fee, because some people decided they wouldn't "just deal with it".

You can drive up but you can't stop... If you are going to park or use any of the facilities on Mount Evans, you are supposed to pay the fee

"Why not challenge something instead of blindly accepting it?"

Damn straight!!!!!! Everyone is too much of a pussy to confront authority these days...remember, the man works for us!!!

Derek Lawrence wrote: You can drive up but you can't stop... If you are going to park or use any of the facilities on Mount Evans, you are supposed to pay the fee

Facilities probably you have to pay. But you can stop on the side of the road free, and there is always what is legal versus what they claim.