Dolores cleanup event set for May 16 on Bean Canyon Road

Bean Canyon Road will get a hands-on cleanup near Dolores as volunteers head out to a busy public-lands corridor used year-round by hikers, campers, motorists and riders. The work is set for Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. off Forest Road 526, with litter pickup, weed removal and restoring fire rings at the center of the effort.

The timing is deliberate. Colorado Public Lands Day falls on the third Saturday in May, and this year it lands on May 16, just ahead of the busier summer recreation season. The cleanup is meant to leave the roadside and nearby pullouts in better shape before heavier traffic arrives on lands that many Dolores County residents and visitors already use for camping, trail access and day trips.

That stretch sits in a larger public-lands landscape that sees steady pressure every summer. The San Juan National Forest’s Dolores Ranger District manages 597,373 acres across Dolores, Montezuma and San Miguel counties, while the Boggy Draw trail system just outside Dolores offers more than 75 miles of trails and remains one of the area’s biggest recreation draws. Farther out, the BLM’s Tres Rios Field Office oversees more than 600,000 acres of public land and more than 2.6 million acres of federal mineral estate in southwestern Colorado, including the 102-mile Dolores River corridor with its dispersed camping, boating access and special management areas.

The cleanup also carries a fire-prevention message that local residents recognize immediately. The BLM Tres Rios Field Office imposed Stage 2 fire restrictions on August 8, 2025, citing high fire danger, and the San Juan National Forest reported a two-acre fire on the Dolores Ranger District in March 2025, warning that it was not too soon to think about fire season. Clearing litter, cutting back weeds and restoring fire rings are small jobs that can reduce the risk of careless sparks and make the area safer as the weather dries out.

The event is set up to be accessible as well as useful. A free lunch will be provided, and vanpool options are available from Dolores and Durango, a practical detail in a rural county where distance can keep willing volunteers at home. A separate Colorado Public Lands Day cleanup at Boggy Draw’s dispersed camping area northwest of Dolores, scheduled for the same day, shows how much volunteer energy is being directed toward the lands locals rely on most.