Tag: fishing

Clear Creek Reservoir, Chaffee County

Surrounded by Colorado mining country, this reservoir offers fishing opportunities year-round in the beautiful Sawatch Range.

Sam

Note: this is not related to the commonly known Clear Creek in Clear Creek County, which is a tributary of the South Platte River, and flows through Golden, CO.

A Fisherman’s Oasis, Accessible Year-Round

Clear Creek Reservoir is directly off U.S. 24, on Chaffee County Road 390. In the winter months, ice-fishing is a popular activity on the reservoir. In the summer months, the reservoir is open to boats, and there are numerous camping areas close to the reservoir. There is a restroom at the main boat dock parking area, but no camping is allowed here. Numerous pull-offs exist beyond the first parking area, that provide additional access to the reservoir shore.

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The boat dock is closed in the winter because apparently it’s hard to bring a boat on solid ice.

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Twin Lakes, Colorado

Just south of Leadville, the historic Twin Lakes area offers plenty of camping, hiking, and fishing in the majestic setting of the Colorado Sawatch mountain range.

Sam

First County Seat of the 17 Original Counties of Colorado

What is now known as Twin Lakes was once the site of Lake County’s first county seat, Dayton. Lake County was one of Colorado’s original 17 counties, established by the Colorado Legislature in 1861. Twin Lakes has been a tourist attraction since as early as the 1870s, when it became an important stop along the route to the gold and silver mines of Aspen. The Interlaken Hotel, located on the south side of Twin Lakes, was founded in 1879 and had some of the best amenities available of the time.

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Wide panorama of the Twin Lakes area from the hills just north of Twin Lakes. Far right is the Mount Elbert Forebay reservoir, an excellent reservoir for fishing.

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Arkansas River Valley

The whole area offers am endless amount of dispersed campsites, offroad routes, day use areas, and river access. Buena Vista and Salida provide the valley with the oasis of civilization.

Sam

The vast expanse that is the Arkansas River Valley is also notably cozy. On the south end, you have the town of Salida. In the middle, you have Buena Vista. At Buena Vista, highway 24 splits northbound towards Leadville, Minturn and I-70, while U.S. 285 heads south to Salida, Alamosa, and ultimately through New Mexico and Texas. North of Buena Vista, U.S. 24 and the valley climbs in elevation towards Leadville.

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Long Draw

If you like getting high and wild, then Long Draw is the place for you. You’re in deep at Long Draw Reservoir, surrounded by high 12,000ft peaks and rugged, wild mountain valleys accented by wildflowers and rolling meadows.

Sam

If you like getting high and wild, then Long Draw is the place for you. You’re in deep at Long Draw Reservoir, surrounded by high 12,000ft peaks and rugged, wild mountain valleys accented by wildflowers and rolling meadows. Long Draw Reservoir is close to the end of Long Draw Rd. At the end of Long Draw Rd is the trailhead for La Poudre Pass, a hiking trail that takes you over the continental divide and ends in Rocky Mountain National Park. From this trail you can also access the ghost town sites of Lulu City, once 40 buildings strong, and home to several hundred residents and a post office, and nearby Dutchtown, the outcast town founded by those cast out of Lulu City.

Long Draw Rd snaking through the high mountain valley. Picture date: November 2016.
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Pingree Park

Regardless of the season, Pingree Park is a recreational playground which offers great access to the National Forest and endless opportunities for recreation.

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Pingree Park Road, or County Road 63E, is a well-maintained gravel road which travels due south from Highway 14 to the northern flank of the Mummy Range. The valley in which the road follows was originally explored by the Arapaho, Mountain Ute, and Cheyenne Native Americans. Development in the valley took place in the mid-1860s, when George Pingree traveled up the South Fork of the Poudre River in search of trees to log for railroad ties for the transcontinental railroad. In 1868, Pingree established a tie camp in the valley now known as Pingree Park. The ties were floated down the Poudre River to Laporte, where they were then taken via wagon to Tie Siding, Wyoming. In the fall of 1870, the demand for railroad ties had been filled and Pingree’s camp closed. Today, the valley offers an abundance of recreational activities, and is the site of Colorado State University’s Mountain Campus.

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Laramie, Hahn’s Peak & Pacific Railroad

For many years, the 111-mile railroad transported coal, lumber, and livestock to Laramie.

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The original route of the L, HP & P.

The Laramie, Hahn’s Peak and Pacific Railroad operated from 1911 until 1996. Construction began in 1901 from Laramie west to Centennial, Wyoming, and then south to Walden and Coalmont, Colorado. Isaac Van Horn was the man behind the L, HP & P, and made the money to fund the construction of the railroad as a grocer in Nebraska. According to records from the Securities and Exchange Commission Reports, Vol. 116, p.352 (1921), Van Horn received $2,750,000 in stock from the railroad. The original premise behind the construction of the railroad was to serve the Acme Mine, owned by the Acme Gold & Copper Mining Co. The Acme Gold & Copper Mining Company had an interlocking board of directors with the L, HP & P and the Northern Colorado Coal Company, and this served extremely influential in materializing the railroad. All three companies were incorporated under Wyoming law with main offices in Laramie, WY.

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