Hazard tree removal closes Snowy Range road on weekdays

Drivers, hunters and campers headed into the Snowy Range will find Forest Road 542 closed on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. while crews remove hazard trees, a restriction that began immediately and will last through the year and into the fall. The road reopens on weekends and federal holidays, giving Albany County travelers a narrower window to reach high-country destinations between Laramie and Centennial.

The closure runs between Forest Road 500 on the north end and Forest Road 543 on the south end, where barricades are in place. The U.S. Forest Service said alternate motorized routes remain available, and private landowners on the south end can still reach their property via the 543 Road. That matters in a stretch of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland that serves recreation, cabin travel and seasonal access across southern Albany County.

Hazard tree work targets dead, weakened or leaning trees that could fall across the road or onto travelers. In the Snowy Range, where spring weather, lingering snow and wind can leave trees unstable, the agency says weekday closures reduce public exposure and give crews uninterrupted time to work safely. The timing was set by contractor availability, the Forest Service said, even though the project had been planned for years.

The impact reaches beyond one road. Forest Service notices say similar daily closures are also happening this year on Forest Road 530 and its spurs, with additional vegetation work underway near the Little Laramie Trail system and Forest Road 101, also known as Sand Lake Road. For people who use the Snowy Range for hiking, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, skiing, OHV riding, camping and biking, that means checking gate status before leaving town and allowing extra time for travel on the mountain network.

Highway 130 remains the primary route across the Snowy Range, but access points such as Albany Trailhead still shape how people move into the backcountry. The trailhead is used primarily for snowmobile parking in winter and ORV riding in summer, with access to the Q-snowmobile trail and the Albany ATV trail. Even as Forest Road 542 closes during work hours, the surrounding forest stays open.

The pattern is not new. In 2019, the Forest Service used weekday and weekend access restrictions for hazard tree work in the Snowy Range and Sierra Madre, including on Forest Road 261. The repeated closures suggest a long-running effort to manage storm- and weather-damaged trees while keeping the Snowy Range open for the traffic, tourism and seasonal use that define Albany County’s mountain corridor.