Inside woman’s five-hour nightmare to get to her beloved Guanella Pass – after fall-obsessed tourists discovered a local secret

A beloved tradition for a Colorado woman and her husband has been marred by the incredible influx of tourists this year who also wanted to witness the same event.

Every fall for the past 25 years, Heather Vigil, a fourth-generation Coloradan, and her husband have taken US 285 to the Guanella Pass in the mountains to go browsing.

But in 2024, they weren’t alone: ​​the couple took five and a half hours to make a trip, when it would normally take them only 60 minutes.

Vigil said they left around 9:30 a.m. Saturday and the bumper-to-bumper traffic was more like Los Angeles than rural Colorado.

When they finally arrived in the area, they found it ‘disgusting’, with overflowing portable toilets, dog mess, illegal parking and even tourists walking in the middle of the road.

‘We’ve never seen it this bad before. The porta potties were overflowing and there were piles of dog aid bags everywhere. Illegal parking, broken side mirrors, people and dogs walking in the middle of the road not letting cars through,” Vigil told the local FOX affiliate. KDVR.

Heather Vigil, a fourth-generation Coloradan, said it took her and her husband five and a half hours to get back to their Denver neighborhood

The outraged local resident said the side mirrors had been torn off due to traffic and she had to fold the mirrors of her car to pass.

She expressed frustration with the difficulty of obtaining these reservations, noting her own difficulties in securing camping reservations.

“I understand that tourism is a huge business in Colorado, and I’m not trying to discourage it, but the problem I have with it is that even locals can’t even use our own mountains anymore,” Vigil said.

Vigil isn’t the only Coloradan frustrated by the disrespectful, “leaf-peeping” tourists who make it nearly impossible for locals to get around.

Keturah Srot, an eight-year resident of Idaho Springs, has never experienced such chaotic road conditions. While planning a day trip to Canon City via the Guanella Pass, she was completely surprised by the overwhelming tourist traffic.

“There were hundreds and hundreds of cars parked illegally on both sides of the road,” she said KDVR.

The Park County Sheriff’s Office captured footage of similar traffic jams in another area, highlighting the widespread impact of the influx of fall tourists.

Srot, unable to continue due to heavy traffic, was forced to turn around and return to Idaho Springs.

“We lost two and a half hours and ended up having to cancel our plans for that day,” she added.

Besides the intense traffic congestion, Srot’s main frustration comes from the many cars parked haphazardly and clogging the roads.

“No one would encounter these types of blocks or traffic jams if people hadn’t parked there,” she said.

Keturah Srot has said she has “never seen roads like this” as tourists’ cars were parked, blocking roads and causing traffic jams along a Colorado mountain town.

The outraged native said people’s side mirrors were being ripped off by traffic and she had to fold the mirrors of her car to pass.

The Park County Sheriff’s Office shared a Facebook post about the severe traffic congestion caused by tourists wanting to view the fall foliage.

One resident noted there was a backup from Kenosha Pass to Conifer on Friday morning, while another person reported a five and a half hour trip from Blackhawk to Loaf N Jug.

“It took more than two hours to cover one mile.” they said.

Several users pointed out visitors’ dangerous parking practices, with cars parked on either side of the narrow Guanella Pass road, impeding traffic flow. The sheriff’s office acknowledged the problem and assured the community they were working on a solution.

Srot expressed concern about the potential impact of traffic on emergency services, fearing that first responders could face difficulties reaching those in need

She urged visitors to be respectful and only park in designated areas, stressing that the behavior of some tourists was contributing to local frustration and anger.

“It just creates a lot of road rage and anger among locals and we don’t want to see any more tourists,” she said.