By Anna Urban

Imagine you’re hiking one of Mueller’s trails. You hear the wind rustling the aspen leaves, the dirt crunching under your feet, a Stellar’s jay squawking in a tree above your head.

As you look up at the bird, you notice a person in your peripheral vision. You realize it is a park ranger on a bike gliding silently down the trail towards you. The ranger dismounts the bike and chats with you about your experience at the park, any pressing questions and tells you a little bit about the bird you’re ogling.

These instances may become more common thanks to the park’s new e-bike initiative. If you didn’t know, in 2025 a new law was passed allowing class 1 and 2 e-bikes on Colorado State Park trails. The new law and seasonal ranger Marisa Clouatre’s personal passion for biking, inspired Mueller’s senior ranger Mike Judd to investigate how e-bikes could be used by park staff.

The proposed benefit of rangers using e-bikes was to minimize disturbance to natural plants, animals and park visitors while patrolling the backcountry. The next step was to test this theory and collect data to support funding proposals. Little did we know that the realized advantages would be much greater than expected.

Judd was able to procure a Quiet Cat 1000-watt bike on loan from another site. Between July and September 2025, the rangers clocked over 500 miles of riding time. According to Judd it is an efficient and less intrusive way to patrol the backcountry. Hiking with the gear rangers carry is tiring and takes a lot of time. The e-bikes decreased the effort and shortened response times when accessing these areas for potential emergencies or park infractions.

“Plus it’s just dang fun to ride,” he said.

Park visitors also noticed the change. “Mom, it’s the police on a bike,” or similar comments were often heard by campers as rangers coasted through the campground. Hikers, campers and other park users would stop Judd and Clouatre to ask about the bikes and chat about their park experiences. The public feedback has been overwhelmingly positive; people feel rangers riding e-bikes are more approachable and relatable than when in trucks.

Clouatre personally enjoys riding the dirt trails and interacting with other trail users. Her first ride using an e-bike on duty was with local e-biker Kent Drummond who frequently visits Mueller. As they rode he shared advice on different types of e-bikes and the joy he gets from riding in the park. Riding the trails also gives her first hand insight into which trails and hills are doable on an e-bike to provide accurate information to other bikers new to the park.

“I’m excited for Mueller to be a welcoming place and stomping ground for the growing e-biking culture,” Clouatre said, “and to provide another way for more people to experience our trails.”

She also recalled a time when she came across a group of horse riders. As she got closer she got off the bike and pulled to the side to allow them to pass. Instead of simply passing by, the group stopped to acknowledge their appreciation for her trail etiquette. They’ve had experiences at other parks where bikers whizz by without any notice which can scare horses and be dangerous for riders.

All of the biking trails in Mueller are multi-use, so it’s important to know how to act when coming across other trail users. Bikers of any kind should yield to hikers, equestrians and other bikers going uphill when you are going downhill. You should also alert others if you’re approaching from behind and would like to pass. Rangers using and practicing responsible trail etiquette is a great reminder to everyone of how to respectfully share the trails.

After the many miles of positive experiences on the bikes, Judd and Clouatre were confident with the trial results and ready to purchase bikes for the park. It was determined that Aventon 750 watt e-bikes were the preferred option based on reviews of reliability. Knowing this they met with Paul Magnuson owner of Team Telecycle in Woodland Park. A long time supporter of the park, Paul was pivotal in providing two bikes and associated gear at a generous price.

The Friends of Mueller State Park, a nonprofit partner who regularly provides funding for new methods of improving the park visitor experience, were also excited about the e-bike initiative and funded the necessary equipment.

A heartfelt thank you to the supporters of this program. We would not have been able to institute it without your advice, knowledge and financial support.

Rangers are excited to not only continue using e-bikes, but to experiment with how other staff members could use them. One idea is to use it to enhance our education and outreach efforts. Last year, the naturalist led a guided e-bike tour via the Wapiti Road. They made multiple stops along the way to chat about the history, plants and animals in the park. Bikers enjoyed the context and extra fun added to their hobby showing one example of how else the bikes can be assets to other park staff.

The goal this year is to discover how to expand the bike’s usage in order to further accomplish our agency’s mission to manage wildlife, provide fun recreation opportunities and inspire future stewards of the beautiful natural resources in our state.

If you’re new to e-biking and interested in learning basic skills and trying out the trails Clouatre is leading two bike workshops at Mueller this summer on June 14 and July 26 from 1 to 3 PM. Mountain bikers and e-bikers are welcome; you must bring your own bike and helmet. You can expect to cover equipment, skills like braking and gear changes, and safety considerations. The group will take a short 1-3 mile ride on the park road or the trail at the end. This will be a small group style class for only 8 bikers, so head to the website to register and save your spot.

So if you see a ranger, or any park staff member on a bike feel free to stop and say hello. We’d love to answer your questions about the e-bike program or hear stories of your time in the park.