RIDGWAY, Colo. — Colorado Parks and Wildlife has expanded its Track-Chair Program to include Ridgway State Park, just outside of Ouray.
CPW said this is part of its mission to increase accessibility for people of all abilities in the outdoor space.
The Track-Chair Program is already in place at Staunton State Park, about six miles west of Conifer. The park donated one of its track-chairs — an Action Trackchair — to the Ridgway park to kick-start the program. In addition, CPW’s Hunting and Angling Outreach Programs provided funding for a second chair and donated a trailer for safe storage, CPW said.
Action Trackchair has about nine different models of all-terrain wheelchairs that provides people the freedom to explore various kinds of terrain across mud, sand, snow and water. The company started in 2008 in Minnesota and has evolved over the past 14 years to create wheelchairs that can withstand all sorts of outdoor conditions, according to its website.
The track-chairs allow visitors who have limited mobility to explore designated trails within the two parks. Reservations for the chairs are free, though all visitors must pay for park entry or show a state park pass, CPW said.
Ridgway State Park Manager Johnathon Freeborn said the chairs provide a priceless opportunity for those individuals.
“To be able to provide this opportunity not only to our local communities but to the people visiting the park from all over the world, this is just priceless,” he said. “When you see the look on a kid’s face who is getting to play on the beach or along our trails, that’s why we do the job we do at our state parks.... This is a unique opportunity for us here on the Western Slope where there just aren’t as many opportunities for this kind of access like there are on the Front Range. Ridgway now being able to provide this is pretty special.”
As Ridgway State Park expands its Track-Chair Program, it is also building its new Trails Master Plan, which will add to the 14 miles of trails already in the park.
“As part of our master plan, we want to increase areas for the track chairs and widen some existing trails to make them more accessible,” Freeborn said. “Not every mile of the park will be track-chair accessible, but we want to do it for all the trails that make sense.”
In addition to the track-chairs, the Ridgway State Park is also adding a 300-foot beach mat and two floating beach wheelchairs at its Dutch Charlie Designated Swim Beach.
The mat, made by the company Mobi-mat, provides a non-slip surface for people with disabilities, walkers, strollers, and more. When the mat is rolled out over sand, people can use the floating beach wheelchairs, also created by Mobi-mat, to move across the beach and into the water, CPW said.
Like the track-chairs, these beach wheelchairs are also free to reserve.
The nonprofit Friends of Ridgway State Park worked with staff to secure a $19,000 grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to purchase the mat and beach wheelchairs.
“This is a huge step forward in enhancing accessibility for visitors to our state parks in the Southwest Region,” said CPW Deputy Region Manager Heath Kehm. “Ridgway State Park is our most visited park in the region and provides a wide array of recreational opportunities. Being able to expand those offerings to members of the disabled community is a priority for CPW, and we are eager to build upon these programs in the future."