Crestone Kiosk: Past, present, and future documented

NewsCrestone, Baca Grande & Casita ParkCrestone Kiosk: Past, present, and future documented
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By Tricia Toney.

The already-storied history of the Crestone Kiosk will soon be adding another chapter. A coalition of public and private partners hopes to re-develop the once-upon-a-time commercial hub into a stop on a network of recreational trails. 

Kiosk history

Around 2016, private citizens began using the open space between Crestone and the Baca as a marketplace and informal used car lot. Commerce escalated over time, with farmers, diesel trucks, small vendors and customers vying for space. 

Many assume the county owned the land but that is not true. By 2022, the private landowners had become so concerned about congestion and liability issues that they approached the county commissioners. Their plan, they said at the time, was to bring in large rocks with which to line the perimeter of the site, blocking access. 

Commissioner Tom McCracken negotiated with the owners to keep the site available to vendors for the 2022 season, with some guidelines in place. He also began working with the owners, who agreed to donate the land to Saguache County, contingent on a deed restriction prohibiting commercial use.

As a result of McCracken’s involvement, a persistent rumor began circulating that Commissioner McCracken was responsible for shutting down community use of the kiosk. 

Kiosk present day

For the past several years, a coalition of public and private partners have been working to create a non-motorized, multi-use trail system in and around the Crestone-Baca area. 

On July 1, Saguache County officials, representatives of the town of Crestone and the Baca joined volunteers from the Eastern San Luis Valley Trails Coalition on Camino Baca Grande, just south of the kiosk, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The event marked the beginning of preparation for a concrete path running between that trailhead location, the kiosk, and the Crestone Charter School.

Part of the “Safe Routes to Schools” national program, this mile-plus of path represents phase one of a larger network of trails planned for the area. Phase one grant funding of $1,434,084 is complete and available. The bulk of the money came from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). 

The trails coalition has been waiting for over a year on a survey that will show the boundaries of the kiosk land, owned by the county, and those of bordering lots owned by the charter school and the Baca Property Owner’s Association (POA).  Based on the survey results, the charter school and POA plan to donate land to the county, which will enact an adjustment to the lot lines, enabling all public amenities to sit on county-owned property. 

Kiosk future

Future trail plans include a six-mile path connecting the kiosk to the Crestone branch of the Saguache County Library and Casita Park. Grant writers for the county recently submitted an application to the Federal Highway Administration for an Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP) grant requesting more than $500,000 for engineering and ecological impact studies for the route. 

The amount is based on estimates from Davis Engineering, a company that understands compliance needs for this kind of construction. 

Several parking areas adjacent to trail hubs are also in consideration for future development.

Commissioner McCracken describes the overall vision of the Crestone-Baca trail system as connecting many parts of the community for pedestrian safety and ease. Eventually, he would like to see the network connect the wildlife refuge, Camino Real (commonly known as Two Trees), and Bureau of Land Management trails. 

“It’s going to be a long road,” he says. Progress is well underway. 

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