CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — The city of Castle Rock is asking people to stop building mounds of stone at a city park. Also known as cairns, the rocks serve a useful purpose for hikers looking for trails. However, Castle Rock officials are asking people to not build them at Philip S. Miller Park.
“We put that out on a [Facebook] post to let folks know it’s an activity that we don’t really want to see occur,” said Jeff Smullen, the assistant Parks and Recreation director.
The cairns are traditionally used to mark remote trails to help hikers find their way in the wilderness. But the cairns in the Castle Rock park serve no purpose.
Park administrators say removing rocks from their natural habitat causes erosion and harms wildlife.
“Taking them down from parks like this… it makes sense,” said Jasime Van Duser, who walks at the park.
There are still more cairns at the park that will be taken down.