Story
911: "What trail are you on?
Hiker: "I don't know. The one that goes to the campground."
Sadly, three trails lead into the campgrounds, leaving first responders with no clear direction as to which trail the hiker is on, nor which parking lot to use for staging.
To answer these questions, The Friends of Palisades-Kepler State Park are sponsoring a Trail Safety Initiative.
Part One of the initiative is to install trail signs at the entry of each trail. These signs will include the trail name, length, and difficulty. To further assist first responders, numbered location markers will be added along the longer trails. Maps bearing the trail names and location markers will be printed and given to all area first responders. These same maps will be made available for hikers. Ideally, the work will be completed by the time the park opens in the spring of 2023.
Part Two of the Trail Safety Initiative is to repair damaged areas along the trails. Several of the trails have areas of high erosion that need to repaired; diverting water will help reduce erosion over the coming years. Stepping stones that were installed on Cedar Cliff up to 15 years ago, have slid out of place and need to be settled. All of these issues make the trails more difficult to hike.