Two decades ago Colorado Springs had two rest area facilities within about 50 miles; now, it has zero. Sometime down the road, travelers in the Pikes Peak region can expect the return of one.

With the closure of the Larkspur rest area in 2009, then the Piñon rest area in 2020, for some travelers it may have seemed that the era of rest stops had declined. However, design plans for a replacement Piñon rest area a few miles south of the Pueblo County-El Paso County line are underway.

Amber Shipley, regional communications manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation, said the facility will reopen near Interstate 25’s southbound exit 108.

The original Piñon rest area, located near mile marker 111 with facilities on the northbound and southbound sides of I-25, closed after years of maintenance problems, according to reporting from Gazette news partner, KOAA.

CDOT has invested a significant amount of time and money in the Piñon rest area since it was constructed in 1960. A renovation in 2004 came at a cost of $4.7 million, and in 2013, CDOT spent $500,000 on a waterless sewage system, which officials said was installed incorrectly, causing a pipeline of issues.

In 2017, the system failed, resulting in both facilities losing running water to the sinks, KOAA reported. In 2018, there were some well issues and a water line broke — after this failure, neither the northbound nor southbound rest areas had clean running water.

The facilities remained open until 2020, when they were closed due to COVID health guidelines.

The closest rest area to the south is near Colorado City, on the southern end of Pueblo County.

Why no quick replacement or fix?

“Rest areas were put in during a time when vehicles traveled at a slower pace, so the distance between destinations felt much longer,” Shipley said. “Drivers have slowly phased away from relying on rest stops.”

The replacement Piñon rest area will only be on one yet-to-be determined side of the interstate, and construction isn’t likely until sometime in 2027, officials said.

Both vacant Piñon rest stops will be demolished, said Shipley, along with the vacant Larkspur rest areas that have served as storage for several years.

The Larkspur buildings, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, were not up to state code. At the time of its closure, the southbound facility alone needed $300,000 in renovations to be up to state standard. To renovate and reopen both Larkspur rest areas, near mile marker 160, it would cost an estimated $12 million, according to previous reporting from The Gazette.

Due to the dwindling need for rest area facilities, the Larkspur rest stops will not be renovated or rebuilt, Shipley said.

One rest area proponent

Skyler McKinley, AAA Colorado’s regional director of public affairs, said rest areas are essential to out-of-state travelers, and that he has noticed statewide complaints about the lack of them along interstate highways.

“Across Colorado we have heard that travelers are upset with the lack of rest areas. We have heard from folks traveling here from North Dakota, Ohio and Indiana where there are toll stations, places you can use the restroom and relax without having to buy anything, then they come to Colorado, where there aren’t many rest areas, and the existing ones are shut down,” McKinley said.

“It’s a real problem.”

How about I-70?

Rest areas along Interstate 70 seem to get more love than facilities along I-25, but that is due to I-70’s mountainous terrain and high volume of traffic, according to Chuck Marsh, CDOT communications director for the region including the I-70 west of Denver.

The Vail Pass rest area, located on I-70 near mile marker 190, is undergoing a $22.5 million renovation. Traffic congestion has been common at the location.

The new rest stop will feature 12 additional bathroom stalls, a viewing deck with interactive wildlife educational resources and 79 additional parking spots, according to the plan’s renderings. The renovation of the Vail Pass rest facility is projected to be complete by the end of summer.

The Vail Pass rest area, the busiest in the state, attracts more than 500,000 visitors annually, according to Stacia Sellers, CDOT major projects and operations communication manager. Meanwhile, the Piñon rest areas had around 160,000 visitors annually in 2019, their last full year of operation, according to Shipley.

On the Plains

In addition to Vail, the Arriba rest stop, located on the Eastern Plains near mile marker 383 on I-70, is getting a renovation, with an updated interior, improved bathroom facilities and a dog relief area. It is scheduled to open later this month, if weather permits, according to CDOT’s website.