14,000-Foot Mt. Lindsey, CO, Reopens For Recreational Hikers After 4 Years Of Closures

Mt. Lindsey, a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado near Great Sand Dunes National Park in the Sangre de Cristo Range named after the explorer and prospector Malcolm Lindsey, has been closed since 2021. This closure was brought into effect because of liability issues after a 7 million dollar settlement was required to be paid to a cyclist by the Air Force Academy in 2019 after he crashed into a sinkhole on the Air Force bike path and nearly lost his life in 2008. This settlement was paid out and brought fears of similar accidents on properties amongst landowners who owned land with dangerous terrain features. After this ruling A no-trespassing sign was placed where the public trail meets the property line to avoid liability issues.

However, this year more protections for landowners were put into place with the Colorado Recreational Use Statue. This bill provides more liability protections for landowners, hoping that more land would be opened for recreational use on previously closed privately owned land like Mt. Lindsey. This allows landowners to create liability waivers with this new statute intact and significantly prevents issues that may arise from accidental or conditions-based injuries that may not be blamed on one person or entity.

Thanks to this new bill, Mt. Lindsey will be open to climbing in the summer of 2025 upon signing a liability waiver creating more access for yet another beautiful Colorado 14er. This waiver allows climbers to be more prepared and aware of conditions that may exist, potentially preventing unprepared climbers from attempting the journey. With this new opening intact this summer it provides even more opportunity for activity in the Southern Colorado and Alamosa area. Along with this it also creates a possibility for other new openings in Colorado that may have previously been closed for liability or injury fears.