Long overdue plans to limit foot traffic on the overwhelmingly popular trail to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon are finally before the public.

We cheer the news.

As reported this week by The Denver Post’s Jason Blevins, White River National Forest officials are set to restrict the number of hikers by as much as 44 percent during the peak season, which runs from May through October. On busy summer days the trek up to the travertine lake and waterfalls can see 1,100 hikers. The proposed plan would allow only 615.

The figures on present use of the trail are astounding. More than 12 million people visit the forest each year. Three years ago, 99,000 visitors hiked up the 1.2-mile path to see Hanging Lake. Last year, 150,000 did so. The picturesque backdrop attracts more and more Selfie Nation attention all the time, which, as we’ve bemoaned, is becoming increasingly disrespectful of the delicate natural environment. Vandals almost caused the trail’s closure this year. Fights have broken out in the parking lot. Hikers take their dogs, swim and skinny-dip in the lake, frolic in the waterfalls and walk on the lake’s signature floating log. Marketers from a foreign sportswear company waded a model into turquoise waters to pose for photos and video.

None of those activities are legal, but with forest rangers busy conducting traffic at the 112-space rest-area parking lot at the trailhead, the place risks becoming an out-of-control bacchanal.

Besides setting up a permitting system to see the lake, rangers propose closing the tiny lot during the peak months and operating a shuttle service. Hikers could also bike to the trailhead. Experienced adventurers by now are accustomed to permits and shuttles, as other popular places and parks rely on them to protect the experience and the landscape. And while it’s always painful to cut off a rest stop with bathrooms, two others exist nearby.

Details must still be hashed out for the shuttle service and the permitting system. We urge officials to ensure that costs are low, and the system isn’t subject to abuse by guide companies. Critics are right to warn against making the trail affordable only for the wealthy.

We hate that it’s come to this. Ideally, access should be as simple as possible. We’re big fans of respectful public use of Colorado’s trails. The hills are wonderful places to go and experience, good for the soul and body and mind.

As Eagle-Holy Cross District Ranger Aaron Mayville put it to Blevins: “Our Forest Service budgets have not exactly grown, and that makes things like this a challenge, but on the flip side, we take the White River visitation numbers as a point of pride and we are very pleased to see people enjoying their public lands.”

Hopefully, any new system at Hanging Lake would promote the many other trails in the canyon and the state.

The public should also play a role in spreading the word about the importance of leaving no trace. Smartphone cameras have turned that old standby — “take only pictures; leave only footprints” — on its head, as too many stray into off-limits areas to take their photos.

Hanging Lake is a treasure. We hope the new plan works to keep it that way.

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