Adventure by Nature Pledge
Please share the Adventure by Nature Pledge, and our local sustainability video, on your website and social media. The pledge raises visitors’ awareness of the need for responsible recreation. We also capture pledge takers’ email addresses so that we can email them info on sustainable travel.
Right click graphic to download it:
Link to page with pledge: https://www.leadvilletwinlakes.com/adventure-by-nature-pledge
Share video link: https://youtu.be/la2K-FVTsdo
Embed video: <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/la2K-FVTsdo” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe>
Outdoor Recreation Messaging
You can use these ready-made messages to visitors:
Summer/Fall:
- 6 Ways to Keep Leadville & Twin Lakes Beautiful – Link to this Lake County Tourism Panel article featured on LeadvilleTwinLakes.com, with sustainable travel tips prioritized from Outdoor Rec Group’s fall meetings.
- Care for Colorado Partner Social Media Toolkit – Find stock photos and videos, infographics, and Leave No Trace graphics in English and Spanish, all from the Colorado Tourism Office.
- Messaging Chart – Responsible Recreation – See what messages to use, and when, with this handy chart. It includes visitor-friendly links to Leave No Trace and CTO resources.
Winter:
- Backcountry Winter Safety – Lake County – Link to this Lake County Tourism Panel article featured on LeadvilleTwinLakes.com, with video and links to Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) winter safety resources.
- Backcountry Winter Safety – Colorado – Explore the full winter toolkit from the Colorado Tourism Office
- Messaging Chart – Responsible Recreation – See what messages to use, and when, with this handy chart. It includes visitor-friendly links to Leave No Trace and CTO resources.
- Do Colorado Right – CTO toolkit with influencers like Red Gerard and Ben Higgins promoting Covid safety.
Resources by Topic:
- Care for Colorado – Videos, brochure, bulleted lists on From Leave No Trace/CTO partnership on these topics:
- Know Before You Go
- Stick To Trails
- Trash the Trash
- Leave It As You Find It
- Be Careful with Fire
- Keep Wildlife Wild
- Share Our Trails & Parks
- Care for Coloradans / COVID Safety
- Camp & Travel on Durable Surfaces – Article from Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
- Fire Safety – Video and article from CTO
- Fire Safety / Fire Ban Stages – U.S. Forest Service video explaining difference between Stage 1 and Stage 2, and between developed and dispersed campsites
- Human Waste Pack-Out Video – From Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
- Leave No Trace Principles – From Leave No Trace/CTO partnership
- Mountain Safety Video Series – From Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
- OHV Trail Tips – Tips and etiquette from Stay the Trail Colorado
- Planning – 10 Essentials – From Colorado Trail Foundation
- Planning – Know Before You Go – Planning info from Leave No Trace
2020 Focus Group & Survey Findings
During the pandemic, visitor patterns changed, and the Lake County Tourism Panel looked at the effects. The Tourism Panel received 50 hours of no-cost mentoring from the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) and its Colorado Rural Academy for Tourism (CRAFT) program in late 2020 and used it to learn of visitor impacts.
The CTO mentor led two community outreach efforts within Lake County to understand the 2020 impacts on public lands and the visitor traffic to local businesses and attractions. See the CRAFT Recovery Mentor Summary Report.
Findings:
Focus Group with Local Land Management Stakeholders: Local land management stakeholders (U.S. Forest Service, trail organizations, Search and Rescue, huts, Visitor Center, etc.) joined a focus group and followup meeting. The 13 attendees shared these findings:
- Land agency managers overwhelmingly saw increased visitation to public lands, including trailheads, campgrounds and open spaces. They experienced flat or reduced staffing during unprecedented visitor use.
- Search and Rescue calls increased 200-300% compared to normal volume.
- Private businesses operating within public lands observed a mix in visitation and revenue due to COVID-19 occupancy limits.
- Lake County’s two visitor centers saw decreased visitation and revenue because of restricted hours due to COVID-19.
Online Survey with Tourism-related Businesses: An online survey was available to 87 tourism-related businesses from Dec. 4-16, 2020. The response rate was 20%. Findings noted that businesses and organizations saw an increase in visitors, but revenue was flat or down compared to previous years. Many businesses did not see direct visitor impacts to their business, but they did experience visitor impacts as a resident. The impacts reported most were illegal camping, traffic congestion, and not complying with fire bans. See a summary of findings from the focus group and online survey.