Here are the main reasons people get tickets at NoCo trails, open spaces

The guacamole gave them away.

Larimer County park rangers had responded to the Hermit Park Open Space campground seven times in less than 48 hours — all for one pesky group of July 4 revelers. 

On that morning, Larimer County Natural Resources visitor services manager Ken Brink and a ranger paid the campsite another visit. But the rowdy group was nowhere to be found.

Then Brink and the ranger spotted the evidence: A big bowl of fresh guacamole on the picnic table, right next to the mortar and pestle used to make it. A full bag of chips on the ground. A cooler with all the leftover booze from the night before.

Unfortunately for these campers, the park has rules about quiet hours, food in open containers and full-strength alcohol.

“As soon as they heard us pick the cooler up, they magically knew we were there and came out of their tents,” Brink said, laughing. “They said, wait, did you guys need something?”

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That group got a ticket for leaving their snacks out in the open. Their example demonstrates a reliable rule of thumb for avoiding tickets at Northern Colorado’s open spaces and natural areas: Don’t be a jerk.

Rangers won't always rush to give you a ticket — county rangers prefer an education-oriented approach, and city rangers have a policy of discretion — but there are a few common violations likely to get you more than a verbal or a written warning.

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County tickets for open space violations generally range from $50 to $100. City tickets for natural areas violations generally range from $100 to $300.

In no particular order, here are some of the main reasons people get ticketed at Larimer County open spaces and Fort Collins natural areas. Avoid these pitfalls, and rangers will thank you.

They don’t follow the rules for camping.

Managing a campground is “kind of like running a little outdoor hotel,” Brink said. That makes campgrounds especially time-intensive for rangers. If a group is causing headaches for other campers, its members are likely to get a ticket. Violations most likely to earn you a ticket are breaking quiet hours (10 p.m. to 6 a.m. at county campgrounds), sneaking into a campsite without a reservation and leaving fires unattended or improperly extinguished.

If campers don't put out their fires all the way, hot embers can spark literal dumpster fires when county rangers try to clean out fire pits. So if you don’t want a poor ranger to deal with another dumpster fire, throw water on your campfire — not just dirt.

In Fort Collins Natural Areas, camping is entirely out of the question. But people try to do it anyway, leading to 185 tickets for illegal camping last year.

They boat irresponsibly.

Boating-related tickets made up more than one-third of 322 tickets issued at county open spaces last year. Rangers have low tolerance for boating violations because they can be so dangerous, Brink said. The fastest track to a ticket is breaking life-jacket rules. You need one well-fitting life jacket easily accessible for every adult on board, and children younger than 13 must wear life jackets.

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You also shouldn’t operate a boat if you’ve had anything to drink, Brink said.

“It’s kind of like having a designated driver,” he said. “It’s no different on a boat.”

They fish without a license.

Yes, rangers will stop you to see if you have a valid fishing license. This is a top offense for natural areas and open spaces.

They smoke and drink.

You can’t smoke marijuana at a natural area or open space — but you already knew that, right? Here’s something you maybe didn’t know: The only alcohol you can legally drink in county open spaces is 3.2 percent beer. No wine, no full-bodied IPAs and definitely no liquor. In city natural areas, any kind of alcohol is a no-go.

County rangers use discretion when it comes to alcohol-related tickets, Brink said. An older couple eating dinner with a bottle of Malbec on the picnic table will probably get a gentle reminder to put the alcohol away. A group of loud partiers or a buzzed boater will probably get ticketed.

Remember glass bottles in general are persona non grata in open spaces and natural areas.

They go where they’re not supposed to go.

This one is easy. If an area is marked as closed, assume the signage is more than a suggestion. City rangers issue tickets when recreators go into areas closed for the evening or because of wet and muddy conditions, Fort Collins Natural Areas and Trails Ranger Dave Irwin said. That kind of ticket has decreased during the past several years as visitors have become more aware of closure rules, he added. County open spaces have similar rules.

You can also get a ticket for climbing on or within 100 feet of a dam, which violates post-9/11 Department of Homeland Security rules.

They don’t leash their pets.

Leash law violations have decreased steadily during the last 10 years or so, from 540 citations in 2006 to 151 in 2016, because people have become more aware of the law. Still, “animal at large” remains a top offense at both open spaces and natural areas. Fort Collins rangers no longer use the zero-tolerance approach to leash laws that they once adopted, Irwin said, but city rangers have still issued more than 70 tickets for the offense this year.

No matter how confident you are that Rover will stay by your heels on the trail, your dog must be leashed at all times in Fort Collins Natural Areas and Larimer County Open Spaces.

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Top offenses

Top categories for Larimer County Natural Resources ranger contacts (includes verbal and written warnings and tickets)

Campground issues: 2,755 contacts in 2016

Fishing/wildlife: 2,621 contacts in 2016

Restricted area: 1,393 contacts in 2016

Boating violations: 1,157 contacts in 2016

Drugs/alcohol: 369 contacts in 2016

Source: Larimer County Natural Resources

Top categories for tickets at Fort Collins Natural Areas

Camping: 185 tickets in 2016

Animal at large: 151 tickets in 2016

Trespassing on a closed Natural Area: 142 tickets in 2016

Possession or consumption of alcohol: 67 tickets in 2016

Fishing without a valid license: 15 tickets in 2016

Unlawful use of marijuana 8 tickets in 2016

Source: Fort Collins Natural Areas