Restoration work halfway finished at Paint Mines Park in El Paso County

CALHAN, Colo. (KRDO) -- A crew of about 10 people is working 8 hours a day, five days a week to repair damage from wear-and-tear at the Paint Mines Park in northeastern El Paso County.

Workers are resurfacing trails, performing erosion prevention measures and placing fencing and more signs around the colorful but fragile rock formations that are attracting increasing numbers of visitors.

Katherine Bair and Tammy Hodge came from Fremont County on Friday, to visit the park for the first time.

"I saw an article about it in Colorado Life magazine and it looked beautiful," Bair said. "Being here today, it's every bit as beautiful. I'm surprised to see so many people here, though. We wish there were signs up to let you know where to go, because we had about a two-mile hike before we got over there."

County officials became aware of the need for restoration work after some instances of vandalism and collapsed formations last summer. Visitation increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic last year and the park's popularity is expected to continue growing.

The crew also is expanding the main parking lot to double its capacity to 70 and prevent vehicles from parking along the gravel road leading to the park.

Workers are using crushed limestone from Fort Collins to resurface half of the 4 miles of trails in the park. A local mine stopped providing the reddish material last year. Five dump trucks of it were brought to the park Friday.

The county also plans to install counters to help determine how many people actually visit the park, and to possibly qualify for funding that could help pay for future park maintenance.

There has been no decision yet on whether to have an attendant stationed at the park on a regular basis, or have law enforcement officers patrol the area more often.

The project began in November and is expected to be completed in April, at a cost of around $330,000.

Previously, officials said that the project qualified for funding by the federal CARES Act for pandemic recovery because the issues there were caused by the pandemic. However, officials later revealed that the park is a historic site and doesn't qualify for CARES Act money.