We're working to protect and expand free public access to private and public land in Colorado. Our goal is to strengthen the state’s recreational use statue and provide stronger liability protection for landowners.
The Colorado Recreational Use Statute (CRUS) protects free public access to land for hiking, climbing, and other recreation.
Outdoor recreation is an important part of Colorado culture and the economy, employing 125,000 workers and contributing $11.6 billion to the state. While Colorado is home to huge tracts of public land, growing recreation demands mean privately owned or managed land also play a critical role.
Recognizing the public interest in accessing private land for recreation, the state created the Colorado Recreational Use Statute (CRUS) to provide liability protection to landowners that allow public recreational use of their land free of charge.
Many landowners have 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.
The Fix CRUS Coalition is working to make more private lands accessible for public recreation - but we need your help to do it.
Colorado is growing. Outdoor recreation is getting more popular each year. Millions of visitors flock to our state each year. We need access to more land, more trails, and more wild spaces than ever. The Fix CRUS Coalition is working to restore, protect, and expand public recreation access on private lands by strengthening ths CRUS.
Learn more about the impacts of the current status quo below – or take action now.
What Does the CRUS Protect?
Hiking and Backpacking
Protect Access to the Peaks and Trails You Love
Rock Climbing
Keep Climbing Areas Open and Accessible to the Public
Mountain Biking
Support Expanding Mountain Biking Access in Colorado
Meet our Coalition Members
Our collaborative approach includes non-profits, small businesses and large corporations, government agencies and local governments, land managers and land owners, and many others who support free public access to recreation in Colorado. Meet all of our members and how to join the coalition below.
Become a Coalition Member Today
Do you support public recreation access on private lands? Register your business, non-profit, or government agency as a member of the Fix CRUS Coalition to endorse this solution, support our work and stay updated in the future. Learn more or get started below.
Take Action Now
Sign and Share the CRUS Change.org Petition
Join the 1,300+ hikers and climbers who have signed our petition urging lawmakers to address this situation by strengthening the CRUS.
Join our Grassroots Support Group on Facebook
This group is a place for individual supporters of the coalition to network, get organized, and advocate to strengthen the CRUS.
Contact Your Senator and Representative About The CRUS
The best way to help fix the CRUS is to contact your legislator and raise awareness. Our guide below explains how to do it.
Recent Coalition Blog Posts
A Dangerous Path: How Colorado’s CRUS is Failing Hikers and Landowners Alike
The Colorado Recreational Use Statute (CRUS) was designed with a noble goal in mind: to incentivize landowners to open their lands for public access and
Preserve Access to Colorado’s Great Outdoors: Strengthen the Recreational Use Statute
Outdoor recreation is foundational to our state’s identity. Whether it be hiking, skiing, fishing, rock climbing, hunting, equestrianism, or mountain biking, recreation transcends political parties
Why Five of Colorado’s 58 Fourteeners Remain Without Public Access
Colorado has a proud history of public land access in spectacular wilderness settings that most states east of the Mississippi can only dream of. However,
