Published June 5, 2026 03:04PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For years, a trail leading to a series of pristine alpine lakes above Ouray, Colorado, has drawn in thousands of eager hikers. But that influx of visitors has also led to what trailworkers on TikTok referred to as an \u201cabundance of human shit,\u201d which trail crews are now working hard to clean up.<\/p>\n
Trailworkers with the conservation nonprofit National Forest Foundation<\/a> (NFF) are clearing out years of built-up human waste hikers left behind at Blue Lakes Trail, about an hour north of Telluride. Crews say their work will make the popular trail safer and cleaner for both humans and local wildlife.<\/p>\n \u201cThat popularity has helped more people connect with public lands, but it has also created significant resource impacts, including trail erosion, soil compaction, damaged campsites, trash accumulation, and widespread human waste issues,\u201d Kaily Raley, program coordinator with the NFF, told Outside<\/em>.<\/p>\n Blue Lakes Trail<\/a> encompasses three turquoise lakes nestled in an alpine basin below Colorado\u2019s 14,000-foot Mount Sneffels. The 8.7-mile trail leading to these lakes is one of the most popular hikes in the state, drawing in over 35,000 visitors per year, according to the U.S. Forest Service<\/a> (USFS).<\/p>\n And with people come their poop, apparently. In response to the influx of human waste, officials are making big changes at the popular trail. On May 31, the USFS implemented regulations to require all visitors to pack out their human waste. The new rules also limit group sizes to six people and ban all campsites at two of the three main lakes.<\/p>\n