JACKSON, Wyo. — In a packed Town Hall meeting on Monday, Dec. 16, Town Council unanimously approved the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and Master Plan to allow outdoor recreational uses on Karns Meadow Park, contingent upon certain conditions.
The master plan will overhaul the existing public park, adding amenities like a parking lot, sidewalks and pathways, making it more in line with the Karns family’s original vision for the space. The Karns family sold the land to the Town of Jackson and designated it for public use.
During the almost four-hour discussion, the community showed up in force to discuss whether or not the park should remain open in the winter for pedestrians and cross-country skiers. Councilors heard the public weigh in on the balance between recreational use and the preservation of wilderness on this open space located off of Snow King Ave.
Town Planner Tyler Valentine said that winter use was originally removed from the park’s CUP draft in 2022 to reduce impacts on wildlife. This measure was the main topic of interest during Monday’s meeting. Community members were divided on whether or not Karns Meadow Park should maintain a full winter closure.
Pete Karns, who sat in the front row with his family, said that a quarter century ago, it was his family’s intention to renovate Karns Meadow into a space for people and wildlife, not to preserve it as a nature sanctuary.
“We are in favor of the park being open in the winter time, and having the pathway open for very minimal use, from dawn to dusk,” Karns said.
Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance Executive Director Jenny Fitzgerald urged the Councilors to consider the mule deer populations that frequent the area in the winters.
“The habitat there is invaluable,” Fitzgerald said. “If the northern spur is open to skiing, then the deer that come across there, if there’s skiers, will turn around and run right back up that hill.”
Resident Patrick Dominic said that the park has become “a little piece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem” after remaining dormant for years.
“It’s really important to recognize that it’s our little Amazon forest, and it has connectivity to other wild places,” Dominic said. “A wild space is where you can immerse yourself in nature and this space offers us that. Let us try to preserve it to the greatest extent possible.”
Other residents implored the Council to allow pedestrians, skiers and cyclists to use the park. Sam Petri, who works for Friends of Pathways but specified that he was speaking as a resident of Pine Drive, said that he was excited to hear about the development of Karns Meadow.
“If the park is closed for five months of the year, it’s not a public park,” Petri said. “As a father of two young children, I would appreciate a flat spot to teach kids how to bike. Allow the community to enjoy this land, whether they want to walk, bike or ski.”
After listening to extensive public comment, Town Council discussed and voted on certain amendments to the proposed Master Plan. According to the staff report, children 8 years and under accompanied by an adult will be allowed to ride striders and small pedal bikes on the park’s proposed pathways. All other bikes are banned from the park. Additionally, dogs are not permitted to be within the park’s boundaries, whether on or off leash.
A parking lot and amenities will connect to a new perimeter loop trail system that will border the outer perimeter of the park. The trail system will consist of an 8-foot-wide, non-paved natural trail (possibly decomposed granite), along with two bridges crossing Flat Creek. Certain sections of the trail along Snow King Ave. and Karns Meadow Drive will be a paved pathway/sidewalk. All amenities and improvements will be ADA-accessible.
Winter use will be open to skiers and pedestrians on a groomed quarter-mile loop trail in the northwest corner of the park. Trail markers will demarcate the nature trail on the north, west and east side, as well as areas closed to human presence. Teton County/Jackson Parks and Recreation Director Steve Ashworth said that the park could close for periods of time in the winter and spring, dependent on Flat Creek run-off and weather conditions.
“I can guarantee that with flooding, we will be doing closures in January and February for public safety,” Ashworth said.
A new measure in the plan states that an advisory committee composed of representatives from the Karns family, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Teton County Parks and Recreation Department, Teton County Public Works, the Town of Jackson, Teton Conservation District and the Jackson Hole Land Trust, will oversee ecological monitoring, mitigation plans, educational programming, stewardship events, citizen science and special events guidelines for the use and development of Karns Meadow Park.
At the approval of all the additional conditions, Town Hall broke out in applause. Jenny Karns, Pete’s daughter, told Buckrail that the family is thrilled that the Master Plan finally was approved and will go through.
“All the aunties will be excited to walk around the accessible west small loop both in summer and winter,” Karns said. “I am excited about having the groomed winter track to do laps, but then the rest of the trail is more ‘off piste’ and ‘backcountry.’ Once a few people break trail on the north and east perimeters, it actually could be wild and fun exploring! I am confident that the deer, fox and birds will adjust quickly as they always have.”
According to Town Manager Tyler Sinclair, Karns Meadow Park’s ordinances will be implemented by the new, incoming Town Council at the start of the new year.
