White River National Forest - Hanging Lake Surveys

OMB Number: 0596-0236

Expires: 11/2017

Hanging Lake – Hiker Survey

SECTION I: TRIP CHARACTERISTICS

1. Which one of the following best describes the purpose of your overall trip?

_____ Primarily for visiting the Hanging Lake area

_____ Primarily for recreation (e.g., hiking, rafting, cycling, swimming) at one or more sites

nearby

_____ Primarily for visiting other destinations outside the Glenwood Springs area

_____ Other reason, please specify:

2. How many total nights are you spending away from home on this trip? _____ nights (if 0, go to Q4)

If one or more nights away from home:

Where are you coming FROM and going TO on your visit today?

a) I stayed last night (slept last night) at [ENTER TOWN]: _______________________________________

b) I will spend the night (tonight) at [ENTER TOWN]: __________________________________________

3. Please provide the following information about your visit today:

a) I entered the Hanging Lake area today at [ENTER TIME]: _____:_____ AM/PM (circle one)

b) I will leave the Hanging Lake area today at [ENTER TIME]: _____:_____ AM/PM (circle one)

c) I visited, or plan to visit, the following locations today (list in order of your visit):

1. ________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________

4. Did you park in the Hanging Lake parking lot today?

_____ Yes

_____ No, parked at a nearby site and walked here.

_____ No, rode a bicycle here (if you rode a bicycle answer Q5a and 5b)

1. Did you rent the bicycle? ____ Yes ____ No

2. If you rented the bicycle, were you dropped off along Glenwood Recreation Path? ____ Yes ____ No

_____ Other (Please specify____________________________)

5. What is the primary purpose of your stop at Hanging Lake today?

_____ Only stopping to use the rest area (e.g., bathroom, picnicking, stretching, scenery)

_____ Using Glenwood Recreation Path

_____ Other (Please specify): ______________________________________________________________

SECTION II: VISITOR INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCE

6. Have you visited Hanging Lake before today? _____ Yes _____ No

If yes, approximately how many times have you visited before today?

Number of prior visits (Please mark only one):

_____ 1

_____ 2-4

_____ 5-10

_____ 11 +

_____ Do not know

7. When did you and your personal group make the decision to visit Hanging Lake? (Please mark only one)

_____ On the day of the visit

_____ 1-7 days before the visit

_____ 8-30 days before the visit

_____ 1-6 months before the visit

_____ More than 6 months but less than a year before the visit

_____ A year or more before the visit

8. Why did you and your personal group choose to visit Hanging Lake today?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. a) Prior to this visit, how did you and your personal group obtain information about Hanging Lake. Please mark all that apply in Column A.

b) If you were to visit Hanging Lake in the future, which sources would you and your personal group prefer to use to obtain information in planning your visit? Please mark all that apply in Column B.

How did you and your personal group obtain information about Hanging Lake?	Column A Prior to this visit?	Column B On a future visit?
Obtained no information prior to visit Live in local area Word of mouth (friends/family) Glenwood Springs Chamber of Commerce website U.S. Forest Service website Hotel/Concierge Other website (Please specify): ______________________________________________ Other (Please specify): ______________________________________________	O O O O O O O O	O O O O O O O O

10. Prior to your visit, had you or any members of your personal group heard or read about visitors having parking problems at Hanging Lake? _____ Yes _____ No _____ Cannot recall

11. Prior to your visit, had you or any members of your personal group heard or read about crowded trail conditions at Hanging Lake? _____ Yes _____ No ______Cannot recall

12. During this visit, did you encounter any problems finding or waiting for a parking space at Hanging Lake? _____ Yes _____ No _____ Not Applicable (did not park at Hanging Lake)

13. Did you think it was crowded on the trail? Check one response in Column A.

Did you think it was crowded at the lake? Check one response in Column B.

Did you think it was crowded at Spouting Rock? Check one response in Column C.

	A Trail	B Hanging Lake	C Spouting Rock
Yes, it was crowded all or most of the time
Yes, it was crowded some of the time
No, it wasn’t crowded
Not Applicable (did not go to site)

14. Did the presence of other people on the trail make you feel rushed or slow you down at any point during your hike to Hanging Lake today? (Please mark only one) _____ Yes _____ No

15. Now I would like to have you rate your recreation experience and the quality of the recreation/trail facilities at Hanging Lake.

• First, rate your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the item using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means very dissatisfied and 5 means very satisfied.

	SATISFACTION RATING
	Very Dissatisfied	Somewhat Dissatisfied	Neither Dissatisfied nor Satisfied	Somewhat Satisfied	Very Satisfied	Not Applicable
Number of People Encountered on the Trail	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Parking Space Availability	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Physical condition of Trail (e.g. erosion)	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Physical condition of Foot Bridges	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of Railing	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of Boardwalk at Hanging Lake	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Adequacy of Information on Rules/Regulations Onsite	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Availability of Educational Displays, Signs, and Exhibits Onsite	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Presence US Forest Service Rangers	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of the Natural Environment	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of Restroom Facilities	1	2	3	4	5	N/A

• Next rate the importance of this item to the overall quality of your recreation experience on this trip. To rate importance use a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 means not at all important and 5 means extremely important.

	IMPORTANCE RATING
	Not at all important	Slightly Important	Moderately important	Very Important	Extremely Important	Not Applicable
Number of People Encountered on the Trail	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Parking Space Availability	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Physical condition of Trail (e.g. erosion)	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Physical condition of Foot Bridges	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of Railing	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of Boardwalk at Hanging Lake	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Adequacy of Information on Rules/Regulations Onsite	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Availability of Educational Displays, Signs, and Exhibits Onsite	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Presence US Forest Service Rangers	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of the Natural Environment	1	2	3	4	5	N/A
Condition of Restroom Facilities	1	2	3	4	5	N/A

16. Did you or your personal group encounter any safety issues during your visit Hanging Lake?

_____ Yes _____ No

If yes, explain (Open-ended): _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SECTION III: FUTURE USE

17. Would you and your personal group consider visiting Hanging Lake again?

_____ Yes, likely _____ No, unlikely _____ Not sure

Why or Why not? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

18. Should the number of people allowed to hike on this trail each day be limited if it is needed to protect and preserve the visitor experience and environment, even if it means you might have to change your plans about when to hike? _____ Yes _____ No

19. If you were to visit Hanging Lake in the future, would you and your group be willing to ride a shuttle bus from designated parking lot in Glenwood Springs or other nearby location to the Hanging Lake parking lot?

_____ Not likely

_____ Somewhat likely

_____ Likely

_____ Undecided

20. Currently no fee is charged to visit Hanging Lake. In the future, a fee may be considered which would include a shuttle service instead of private vehicle parking. For each of the following fee amounts, please indicate whether or not you would be willing to pay it for the shuttle service (Check one response for each item):

Yes No Not Sure

1. $5 per person _____ _____ _____

2. $10 per person _____ _____ _____

3. $15 per person _____ _____ _____

4. $20 per person _____ _____ _____

5. $25 per person _____ _____ _____

6. $30 per person _____ _____ _____

7. $35 per person _____ _____ _____

8. $40 per person _____ _____ _____

21. If a guided hike of Hanging Lake were offered in addition to the shuttle service, would you and your group sign up for the guided hike? _____ Yes _____ No

If yes, for each of the following fee amounts, please indicate whether or not you would be willing pay that amount for the additional guided service, in addition to the shuttle fee. (Check one response for each item):

Yes No Not Sure

1. $5 per person _____ _____ _____

2. $10 per person _____ _____ _____

3. $15 per person _____ _____ _____

4. $20 per person _____ _____ _____

5. $25 per person _____ _____ _____

6. $30 per person _____ _____ _____

7. $35 per person _____ _____ _____

8. $40 per person _____ _____ _____

22. In your opinion, what is an acceptable wait time for shuttles to and from Hanging Lake?

_____ The wait time doesn’t matter to me.

_____ 10 to 15 minutes

_____ 16 to 30 minutes

_____ 31 to 45 minutes

_____ 46 to 60 minutes

23. For the following categories, please estimate how much you (and other members of your party) will spend for your entire trip within 50 miles of here. Please round off to the nearest dollar.

Lodging (Motel, Lodge, Cabin, B&B, Camping etc.) $__________

Food (Restaurants, Groceries, etc.) $__________

Gasoline and Oil $__________

Entry, Parking, or Recreation Use Fees for Other Sites $__________

Recreation and Entertainment (include Guide Fees, $__________

Equipment Rental or Purchase, and Souvenirs)

Other (Please specify:____________________________) $__________

SECTION IV: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

24. How many people are in your group today, including yourself?

Adults (18 and older): __________

Children (under 18): ___________

25. What is your gender? Please mark one. _____ Male _____ Female _____ Other

26. Are you Hispanic or Latino? _____ Yes _____ No

27. With which racial group(s) do you most closely identify? Please select one or more.

_____ American Indian/Alaska Native

_____ Asian

_____ Black/African American

_____ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

_____ White

_____ No Response

28. Which category best represents your annual household income (before taxes) last year? Please mark (•) one. _____ Less than $24,999

_____ $25,000-$34,999

_____ $35,000-$49,999

_____ $50,000-$74,999

_____ $75,000-$99,999

_____ $100,000-$149,999

_____ $150,000 or more

_____ Do not wish to answer

29. Where do you live?

City ____________________________ State_________________ ZIP _______________

Country (if not US) ______________________________________

Thank you for participating!

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.  The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0596-0236.  The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 15 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.