Tourism Partners Help Visitors “Doo Colorado Right”

Partnerships around the state are working to reduce human waste near trails and campsites

Efforts to encourage trail users to “Doo Colorado Right” are helping to keep the state’s public lands clean from human waste. A collaboration of 36 partners, led by the Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism and Prosperity Partnership (TAPP), is empowering visitors to pack out or bury their waste responsibly by providing bathroom kits and educational resources in needed areas. Learnings from the TAPP efforts and a similar pilot project at Mt. Elbert were featured in a recent CTO webinar.

These initiatives align with strategies from the CTO Destination Stewardship Statewide Strategic Plan, amplifying the “Doo Colorado Right” message to both visitors and residents. The result is a positive behavioral change that protects the natural environment and ensures that Colorado remains an attractive destination for future visitors.

Why “Doo Colorado Right”?

As more people discover the joys of exploring Colorado’s breathtaking landscapes, human waste on trails and campsites has become a growing problem with serious environmental consequences. Mishandled waste can contaminate waterways, harm wildlife, and pose health risks to both animals and humans. Additionally, mishandled waste creates a significant resource burden for land managers and is one of the top three reasons that lead to restricted public land access.

Beyond the environmental concerns, human waste left on the ground degrades the quality of Colorado’s tourism experience. According to CTO research, 82% of visitors are repeat tourists, and a survey conducted by TAPP and PACT Outdoors found that 69% of Colorado’s recreationists are less likely to return to an area if they encounter human waste and discarded toilet paper.

The challenge often comes down to a lack of preparedness. In a past survey of 25,000 outdoors enthusiasts, conducted in partnership with PACT Outdoors and Moosejaw Mountaineering, three out of four respondents said they have been caught without supplies while needing a bathroom.

The solution requires a combination of tools, communication and infrastructure, as highlighted by Jake Thomas, co-founder of PACT Outdoors, during a recent CTO Care for Colorado Coalition webinar titled “Making Number 2 the Number 1 Priority.” Together, these elements can empower people to keep Colorado clean. 

Tourism Partners and Local Business Collaborate

In 2023, TAPP launched an innovative partnership with PACT Outdoors, based in Crested Butte, to provide special kits that help trail users responsibly bury their waste. The PACT Lite Kits, which include a trowel, wipes and fungal mycelium tablets to break down waste safely, were distributed at local trailheads, ranger stations and visitor centers. This initiative offered both education and practical tools to visitors and was supported by CTO Marketing Matching Grants in 2023 and 2024.

That year, the TAPP team engaged a wide range of partners across the state, including the United States Forest Service, Colorado State Parks, tourism organizations, chambers of commerce and local visitor centers to distribute 3,500 PACT Lite Kits across the state. In 2024, the partners distributed 4,600 kits, which included a new research component: QR codes on the kits that linked to a survey implemented with the help of students from the Wright Collegiate Challenge and Western Colorado University. Results revealed that 87% of respondents better understood Leave No Trace principles after receiving a kit, and 92% said they were more likely to carry a bathroom kit outdoors in the future.

“A key takeaway is how much providing a tool shifts the conversation, moving from rules to solutions,” said TAPP Marketing Director Andrew Sandstrom. 

Sandstrom also noted that the project partners localized their efforts to best connect with visitors. For example, the Breckenridge Tourism Office gave kits to hikers on the shuttle to fourteener Quandary Peak, while Golden Gate Canyon State Park distributed kits in its backcountry permit office. “It is a good learning to empower local entities to use kits to the best of their ability rather than mold the program to specific requirements,” Sandstrom said.

Piloting the Clean 14

In another recent effort, a Clean 14 pilot program and research study explored pack-out behavior on Colorado’s fourteeners. In the summer of 2024, PACT joined with Leave No Trace, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative and researchers from Penn State University to encourage hikers to carry waste pack-out kits on Mt. Elbert, the state’s highest peak.

The project placed a kit dispersal and disposal kiosk near the beginning of the trail, stocking it with bright, bold kits. The kits include easy-to-follow instructions and Leave No Trace research to show why packing out is important, along with a humorous Daily Dump newspaper that features games and comics. 

After 19 days of data collection from 410 respondents, researchers found that 11% of hikers eliminated waste on Mt. Elbert: 70% on the mountain and 30% in vault toilets. While three-quarters of respondents had heard of pack-out bags, only 38% had used them. However, 79% of hikers who tried a kit were more likely to carry one in the future.

A key learning is that kiosks offer an opportunity to complement vault toilets, which are expensive to install and maintain. In addition, the kiosks can reach larger numbers of hikers with fewer staff and less expense, and they offer metrics to track usage.

CTO Webinar Shares Best Practices from Leave No Trace

The February CTO Care for Colorado Coalition webinar provided insights from the projects mentioned above, and Brice Esplin, the director of sustainable tourism at Leave No Trace, shared best practices for educating visitors.

Esplin’s key takeaways include the following:

• Remove taboos around waste topics. Visitors engage with waste-related discussions, and using humor (like the poop emoji) is effective in capturing attention.
• Be clear about where and how to go. Offer pack-out kits (WAG bags) at visitor centers, trailheads and outfitter locations. Mark supply points on trail maps, visitor apps and Google Maps for easy locating. Collaborate with land managers for signage and education.
• Offer fun activities for kids. Help children learn through play. For example, games can help kids to identify different types of animal waste, like dog vs. bear droppings.

In a related case study, Esplin highlighted the “Have a Poop Plan” campaign in Oak Creek, Arizona. This initiative, which reached 70% of visitors in three years, reduced E. coli in a local stream by 54%, removing it from the “impaired waterway” list. The campaign used research from Arizona State University and leveraged local businesses as key educational partners.

CTO Offers Tourism Partners “Doo Colorado Right” Messaging

The CTO encourages visitors to “Doo Colorado Right” through its ads, social posts, signage templates and posters. In addition, all tourism partners are encouraged to share the CTO’s “Do Colorado Right Even When Nature Calls” video.

Share Your Success Story

Do you have a Colorado destination stewardship success story to share? We’d love to hear about your impactful work. Please reach out to the CTO and let us know how you are protecting our natural wonders, communities and cultural heritage for generations to come.