Judge denies mountain coaster appeal for more parking

ESTES PARK — A district judge has upheld the December 2024 decision by the Board of Larimer County Commissioners that denied Mustang Mountain Coaster’s application to expand its parking lot in eastern Estes Park by 50 spaces.

According to the Estes Valley Voice, Larimer District Judge Joseph Findley ruled March 10 that commissioners did not abuse their discretion when they ruled that the application did not meet the county’s land use code requirements. The owner of the alpine roller coaster’s property at 1180 Dry Gulch Road, Yakutat Land Co., sued to appeal the decision in March 2025.

The owners of the 1,960-foot gravity-driven ride, located on 186.75 acres off Dry Gulch Road north of U.S. Highway 34, had sought to expand the attraction’s parking lot from 19 to 69 spaces and to get a permit for a 20-by-20-foot observation deck that had already been constructed.

The case in Larimer District Court is Yakutat Land Co. v. Board of County Commissioners of Larimer County, Colorado. Case No. 2025-cv-30197.

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