Mt Scott Roadway Reopened

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge announced the reopening of the Mt. Scott Roadway on December 20, 2019.

Contractors worked hard for the last year to complete stabilization of the historic road-way and its drainage structures. Refuge staff and volunteers supported the effort by provid-ing additional clearing of brush and essential drainage systems. Though visitors won’t notice any major changes to the roadway, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service will be managing the roadway slightly differently than in the past. In response to public feedback, the road will be managed to provide for maximum use and safety during peak visitation.

Deputy Refuge Manager Amber Zimmerman stated, “We greatly appre-ciate members of the public who took time to provide input via email and in person. We believe we have developed a workable solution that incorpo-rates what we heard from the public to provide as much access to Mt. Scott as possible while providing for the safety of our visitors.”

Operating hours for Mount Scott will be sunrise to sunset.

User groups will be able to ac-cess the roadway based on the following schedule:
Updated 2/10/2020:

• Monday – Thursday – shared usage allowing all users groups access to the roadway from sunrise to sunset.
• Friday (Sunrise – Noon) will continue shared usage.
• Friday-Sunday (12 p.m. – Sunset): Motor vehicles and bicycles only.
• Saturday-Sunday (Sunrise – Noon): Hikers only
• Saturday-Sunday (12 p.m. – Sunset): Motorists and bicyclists will have exclusive use of the road.

Select federal holidays and high usage time frames, like Spring Break, will subject to split usage as necessary and will be signed appropriately along the roadway. All other policies related to Mount Scott remain the same. The maximum group size will remain 8 hikers only to prevent overloading of the roadway during shared use. Parking in the roadway and/or obstructing traffic is prohibited. All visitors are expected to observe posted signs, speed limits, and traffic laws.

Photo courtesy of O. Plumlee