Re: Potential Relocation - Boating in Colorado?
Hey owp...
I have been boating in Colorado for 20+ years...while there's not exactly what you'd call a "plethora" of boatable lakes, there are enough to make worthwhile!
LINK to State Parks that allow the type of boating you desire:
In Alphabetical Order:
Boyd Lake State Park (Loveland): Nice campgrounds, decent water/size. Somewhat busy on weekends. In right inside Loveland, CO (about an hour North of Denver)
Carter Reservoir: Lot's of sailboats, but a decent during the week lake?
Chatfield Resevoir: Larger reservoir, in Highland Ranch, South of Denver, most likely closest to you. Very busy on weekends.
Cherry Creek Reservoir: Large, busy, but decent. Some shallow spots...also, can rent jet-skis and there's some decent beach areas. Not my favorite...to many non-boaters in the swimming/beach areas.
Jackson Lake State Park: Decent sized, weather can turn quickly here, sandy bottom, decent campgrounds, but lot's of algea...did I mention lots of algae?
John Martin Reservoir: About 3.5 hours Southeast of Denver, second largest body of water in Colorado when at capacity. Decent as it doesn't get too busy because of distance from big cities. Camping ground is nice, but too far from the lake. No real places to beach as most is off limits due to a bird sanctuary (ironic on a man made lake!) and the areas that are not are mostly rocky...there are exceptions, but unless you know the lake can get shallow when Kansas want's it's water!
Lathrop State Park. Really nice campgrounds (not real close to lake), not too busy, which is good given it's a smaller lake. Some okay beach areas if you get to them early enough? We got the group site for this Memorial weekend, which has a pavillion, connections for 7 campers, allows up to 50 people and right on the lake. The Walsenburg golf course is on-site, so us boys get up early on Sunday and play 9 holes.
Lake Meredith: Approx. 3 hours Southeast of Denver. As rustic as it gets, no established campgrounds; however, you can pull up the sandy beach (some small trees/weeds) and camp wherever. It was mostly emptied these past years due to droughts? One of our favorites are there's no real supervision. Sandy bottom (some shallow areas) not real deep (14' when at capacity). It's locally called "Outlaw Lake" because of the lack of oversight...people party until the wee-hours and can be a PITA.
Lake Pueblo State Park: about 100 Miles South of Denver, busiest body of water in Colorado (other than Navajo Reservoir, but most of that in in NM) Decent water, can get busy on weekends, camping is plentiful, not right on water, so beaching is out! also, no real beachable areas as the lake is surrounded by shale cliffs. Some really awesome coves for fishing and rafting up!
Non State Parks:
Horsetooth Reservoir: About 1.25 hours North of Denver. Large (6+ miles long, but only about .5 mile wide at it's widest point). Some nice coves for anchoring/rafting/beaching, but on weekends fills up quick. Very nice campgrounds, some you can boat right up to! When at capacity it's a fairly nice place to boat. The rangers can be a bit over zealous with reminding you of the rules...got pulled over there 2 years ago (57mph), didn't have enough life preservers and had a few beers...nothing but a warning...so at least they were cool to me!? Got 7 spaces reserved for 4th of July weekend this year.
Let me know if you want more details? PM me and I'll fill you in on what I can?
~Brett
