"For the past four decades, the Forest Service has been at the helm. Now it's Denver's turn again."
Forest Supervisor Christopher Stubbs said that to 9News this spring, when Denver City Council approved a new management deal for Mount Blue Sky. If you live along Soda Creek Road, that deal sets up the drive you know best. Head out of Bergen Park and up CO-103 toward Echo Lake, and almost every stop where the road ends is now run by the City and County of Denver. Echo Mountain is the one stop Denver doesn't run.
The first season under that arrangement ended on Oct. 5, 2026. As of that date, Recreation.gov lists Mount Blue Sky Road, State Highway 5, as closed to vehicles for the rest of 2026. So this is the first November that the mountain above Soda Creek sits idle under city management, with a city-run lodge redesign waiting in the wings.
Whose mountain it is now
Denver isn't new to the mountain. In the early years, Stubbs said, Denver had the bigger presence with its lodge and restaurants. Then the Forest Service led for about forty years. The Forest Service announcement dated April 14, 2026, describes the new model as a partnership. Denver Mountain Parks leads visitor operations under agreements with the Arapaho National Forest and the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation.
Here is how the pieces are split now:
| Who | What they handle on and around Mount Blue Sky |
|---|---|
| Denver Mountain Parks | Welcome station staffing, the summit area, Mount Goliath Natural Area, park maintenance, city park rangers. Denver also owns Echo Lake Lodge and Summit Lake Park |
| Denver Mountain Parks Foundation | Entry fee collection and the reservation system, alongside the city |
| U.S. Forest Service | Visitor information, wilderness and trails, fire management, and a share of fee revenue |
| CDOT | Maintenance, plowing and repairs on State Highway 5 to the summit |
| Colorado Parks and Wildlife | The nearby wildlife area and the mountain goat and bighorn sheep herds |
Shannon Dennison, director of Denver Mountain Parks, told 9News the city and the Forest Service had spent several years "evaluating opportunities to streamline services and avoid duplicative efforts." The timing also tracks the road itself. Highway 5 had been closed to the public since Labor Day 2024 while crews rebuilt sections damaged by buckling and drainage problems. Denver took over the same season the road reopened, with first reservations on Friday, May 22, 2026.
What the first season looked like at the gate
The city's first summer made a few changes that locals will remember. According to The Denver Post, 2026 entry cost $20 per car and $15 per motorcycle, plus a required $2 fee to reserve your visit time in advance. Federal recreation passes, including America the Beautiful and Federal Lands Access passes, are no longer accepted under the locally managed structure. To make up for that, Denver offered free checkout passes through Denver Public Library and the Clear Creek County Library District for anyone with a valid card, according to the city's Mount Blue Sky page.
Hikers and cyclists who start below the welcome station still get in free. Tickets aren't sold at the welcome station, and there's no cell service up there. Recreation.gov's own advice is to buy a reservation before you leave Idaho Springs or Bergen Park, and Bergen Park is the one on Soda Creek's side of the mountain.
The money matters because it explains why Denver wanted the job. Denverite reported that the Foundation would keep about 10 percent of entry fee revenue for administration and pass a smaller share to the Forest Service. It put the city's figures at roughly $900,000 in revenue against $450,000 in operating costs. Denver says the fees go toward maintaining facilities in the recreation area. Neither the city nor the Forest Service has published 2027 prices or an opening date for next season.
Echo Lake Lodge turns 100 with its doors closed
The most visible Denver property from CO-103 is the one you can't go into right now. Echo Lake Lodge is in its 100th year. Denver Parks & Recreation calls it the focus of a "comprehensive planning and restoration effort." The city's project page says the lodge stays closed to the public through design and construction. It also says that in summer 2026, the department and the Vibrant Denver Bond team would start choosing design consultants. The design phase is expected to take about twelve months.
The published plan points to a busier lake in every season. For the lodge and the park around it, Denver lists:
- Rehabilitation of the historic exterior and structure, plus new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems
- Interior space for overnight programmatic lodging, gathering rooms, interpretive exhibits and mission-based concessions
- A catering kitchen and public restrooms
- A redesigned arrival area with better vehicle and pedestrian circulation, and upgraded parking, picnic areas, trailheads and water access points
- A year-round trail and access network for visitors of all ages and abilities
- The historic Echo Lake concession stand and shelter folded into the new design
- Seasonal activities ranging from stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking in summer to ice-related activities in winter
The design phase alone is scheduled to run past next summer, and the page doesn't give a construction date. The lake trail is still there. The Denver Mountain Parks Foundation describes a loop of about 0.6 miles around Echo Lake that connects to the lodge parking lot, with trails heading out toward Chicago Lakes. Neither the Foundation nor the city has published winter conditions or winter parking details for the lake, so check before you drive up with snowshoes.
The 12 miles of road that end at a private ski hill
Echo Mountain is the exception on CO-103. It sits outside the Denver partnership and runs on its own schedule. SAM reported in September 2023 that Burwell Enterprises sold the ski area to Jogan Inc. Echo's directions page puts it 12 miles west on CO-103 from CO-74, about 20 minutes from Evergreen. It notes that Jefferson County, Clear Creek County and CDOT share maintenance of the roads on the way. From the Soda Creek side, that's the same Bergen Park turn you'd take for Echo Lake.
CPR's opening-date roundup lists Echo's 2026–27 opening as "Projected Dec. 12, 2026." As of late October, Echo hasn't confirmed that date on its own site. From the Thursday this post goes up, Dec. 12 is about six weeks away. CPR set the season up against a hard year. Last winter's record snow drought kept some areas, Hesperus among them, from opening at all, and the forecast now calls for a snowier winter driven by a "super El Niño" pattern.
What Echo has published so far is mostly about evenings:
- Season passes for 2026–27 start at $199. The Night pass and the Midweek pass are each $199.
- The Night pass is good Wednesday through Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to close, with listed blackout dates.
- Night skiing runs Wednesday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m., on intermediate terrain only. Echo says beginner terrain isn't guaranteed after dark.
- Lifts on the official conditions page are the Hot Laps Special Triple Chair, the Stairway to Shreddin Conveyor and the Magic Vista Conveyor.
For a Soda Creek household, the night schedule is what makes Echo work. A 4:30 p.m. start, 12 miles up the road, fits after a workday in a way most Front Range ski areas can't.
November, down near Bergen Park
With Highway 5 gated, the lodge closed and Echo's lifts waiting on snow, November happens at the bottom of the road. These dates come from the Canyon Courier's community calendar, plus the standing gatherings it lists along Bergen Parkway:
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to noon: The Pumpkin Smash at Bergen Meadow Elementary, 1928 S. Hiwan Drive. Drop off your pumpkins or smash them yourself. It raises money for Evergreen Sustainability Alliance and Wild Aware.
- Monday, Nov. 9, 6 p.m.: An open house on EPRD's field house plans in the Bergen Peak Room at Buchanan Rec Center.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, noon to 4 p.m.: The free Mountain of Thanks Festival at Evergreen Design Center, 27945 Meadow Drive, with art, music, dance, food and performance.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Wild Aware's third-Thursday Open Aware Meet & Greet at Evergreen Brewery, 2962 Evergreen Parkway.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 9 a.m.: The 16th annual EChO Turkey Trot from 27888 Meadow Drive.
- Friday, Nov. 27, 9 a.m.: Wild Aware's Fourth Friday Coffee at Evergreen Bread and Cocktail Lounge, 1260 Bergen Parkway.
The road itself stays open. CDOT lists the Mount Blue Sky Scenic and Historic Byway as open from Idaho Springs to Evergreen Parkway. Its eastern leg runs from Echo Lake down Clear Creek County Road 103 and Jefferson County Road 66 to Bergen Park. Only Highway 5, the summit road, is closed for the season.
If you live near Soda Creek and want to talk about how the high country above Bergen Park plays into a home's value, from road access to how close it sits to Echo Lake and Echo Mountain, Yvette Putt is happy to go through it with you. Start with an instant home valuation, and we can work through the details from there.
