Headed out hiking this season? Here are a few tips to help you stay safe and enjoy your visits to our beautiful forests and trails.

Starting this summer, fees or passes will be required to park at several popular trailheads in Routt National Forest, specifically at Mad Creek, Dry Lake, and Slavonia (where the Zirkel Circle starts). Also, the Dry Lake campground on Buffalo Pass will be closed this year, and the two parking lots will alternate as to which one is open while upgrades are made.

Where parking fees are implemented, there will be a fee tube for the $5 daily cash or check, or passes can be placed on vehicle dashboards. America the Beautiful National Park or Routt National Forest passes may be used; these are available at the Forest Service office in Steamboat.

Even before you hit the trail, you may discover parking problems. At the Slavonia trailhead in the Zirkels and the Stillwater Reservoir trailhead in the Flat Tops on busy summer weekends, there can be upwards of 100 vehicles attempting to park. Neither of these areas was designed for this load. If you encounter this situation, consider an alternate hike and trailhead; there are a number to choose from near both of these busy areas.

Early season, high country trail conditions are variable, and you may encounter mud or snow well into June. Hiking etiquette requires walking in the center of the trail, and into water and mud if necessary, to avoid creating erosion, widening the trail or trail braiding (creating multiple trails in the same direction). You will probably want extra socks and clean shoes for the ride home.

If you anticipate more than four inches of snow, gaiters and underfoot traction are recommended. If you find snow unexpectedly, take it slowly and hike switchbacks on slopes. Trekking in deep snow (postholing) is hard work. Hiking poles can be helpful under muddy or snowy conditions.

You may know that bicyclists should yield to everyone else on the trail. People going downhill should yield to those going uphill. Although bicycles are not allowed in wilderness areas, you are likely to encounter them on trails outside of designated wilderness. However, as a hiker, if I encounter bicyclists coming up a trail, I usually step aside as a courtesy so they do not have to stop and start going uphill again.

Everyone should yield to horses and mules, which are prone to spooking. Allow the horse or mule to be on the uphill side of the trail, making you look smaller than they are, and talk calmly to them or their handler/rider so the animal recognizes your voice as human. This is especially important if you are carrying a pack which may look foreign and potentially threatening to the animal.

Our local national forest areas are among the few that allow dogs to be off leash, provided they are under verbal control at all times. Voluntarily leashing your dog can protect it from wildlife encounters and enable easier interactions with other hikers, especially on busy trails. Please pick up your dog’s waste and take it with you; no one wants to see those waste bags left by the trail.

Your early season ventures into the forest are sure to yield many rewards and readily reveal why we seek them out.

Nancy Kellogg is a board member of Friends of Wilderness, which assists the U.S. Forest Service in maintaining trails and educating the public about the Mount Zirkel, Sarvis Creek and Flat Tops wilderness areas. For more information, go to FriendsOfWilderness.com.