About two years after it was closed, a popular access point to a Nevada County trail has reopened. The gate at the trialhead was locked by a private property owner, Jonathan and Jacy Davis, in the Gracie Road Banner Mountain area, where an 800 foot public easement was located on the Cascade Canal Trail They said people had been littering, lettng their dogs run free, and yelling at them, among other concerns. After months of discussions with the Davis’, the group Friends of Banner Mountain filed a court complaint in September of 2017. But just before hearing was scheduled, both sides reached an agreement. Group member Susan Sanders says the gate will be unlocked, but still closed, starting April second. A sign will also be posted, urging people to stay on the trail and that the landowner’s easement should only be used during daylight hours…

But Sanders says even if there had been a hearing, they had a good legal precedent. She says the easement has been in place for over 50 years, pre-dating a 1972 court ruling that banned such easements…

Sanders says both sides also wanted to avoid the expense of a trial.