Red Fleet

Red Fleet Reservoir, in northeast Utah, remains off the radar of many Coloradoans.  It is nonetheless a gem that makes a worthy destination for a long weekend getaway.  Red Fleet has a variety of exciting features--including slickrock shorelines, winding canyons, towering sandstone alcoves, and even dinosaur tracks--all packed into an easily explorable lake.

Red Fleet Reservoir

About 6 miles north of Vernal, Utah, the trip from the Front Range Red Fleet is comparable travel time to Moab.  Like Moab, the Vernal area has great desert mountain biking, a large meandering river (the Green) and nearby access to a high, forested mountain range (the Uintas).  

Vicinity Map

    Location Info [key]:

    Scenery: 5

    Shoreline Interest: 5

    Use: Moderate-high

    Fee: $10/vehicle

    Access: Paved

    Full elev = 5610

    Rec info

    Weather

Granby, Shadow Mountain & Grand Lakes

The Grand Lake/Granby area of Colorado is home to a collection of scenic mountain lakes that offer a wide variety of paddling experiences. Four of the lakes—Shadow Mountain, Granby, Willow Creek and Monarch—are within the Arapaho National Recreation area. Grand Lake can be accessed directly from the town of the same name.

Shadow Mountain Lake

The Arapaho National Recreation Area (ANRA) contains one of the best clusters of mountain lakes in Colorado.  The water acreage and shoreline miles contained within offer many paddling options.  With lodging in Grand Lake, Granby, and nearby Winter Park, as well as abundant camping in the surrounding Arapaho National Forest, the lakes of Grand County make a great summertime getaway within a couple hours of the Front Range cities.  

Vicinity Map

[Click for official recreation area map]

Bighorn Lake

Bighorn Lake is a grand yet lightly visited water body that traverses over 70 miles between Northern Wyoming and Southern Montana.  Impounded by the imposing Yellowtail Dam, most of the reservoir is confined by the steep to vertical walls of the Bighorn River Canyon as it slices through the Bighorn Mountain Range.  Although the original river is irreversibly altered by the drowning of the canyon, the current setting remains quite spectacular and exciting exploration via paddleboard, canoe or kayak.  

☆ Strait at Crooked Creek

☆ Narrow Side Canyon

Despite its immense size, there are only a handful of locations where the lake can be easily accessed by motor vehicle.   Two of those places are featured in this post.  Crooked Creek Bay and Barry's Landing are both accessed from WY Hwy. 37, just east of Lovell, WY on U.S. Route 14A.  

Vicinity Map

    Location Info: [key]:

    Scenery: 5
    Shoreline Interest: 3-5
    Use: Low-moderate
    Fee: None
    Access: Paved
    Full elev = 3640; 

    Water level
    Rec info 
    Rec map 

    Weather (Barrys Landing) 

    Weather (Crooked Creek)

Lake Dillon

Passed by thousands of motorists every day, Lake Dillon is a large playground for a variety of water activities on the summer months.  It has wide open waters that are popular for sailing and motorized boating, as well as multiple islands, channels and coves that are ideal for hand-powered crafts.  

Peak 1 and Tenmile Peak reflected on Lake Dillon

The western extents of Dillon Reservoir are a good place to start exploring the lake by paddleboard.  The Heaton Bay, Giberson Bay and Frisco Bay regions of the lake all have complex, interesting shorelines with islands and coves.  

Dillon Reservoir

Vicinity Map

    Location info [key]:

    Scenery: 4
    Shoreline Interest: 4
    Use: Moderate-High
    Fee: Varies
    Access: Paved
    Full elev = 9017; Best near full
    Water level/rec info

    Weather

Horsetooth Reservoir

Horsetooth Reservoir is right in Fort Collins's backyard at the edge of the Northern Colorado foothills.  The uniquely shaped lake takes advantage of long, natural valley behind a hogback to create a six-mile long impoundment with four separate dams.  The resulting water body has  a mostly linear, open shoreline on its east side but an interesting, complex western shoreline with multiple coves, inlets and islands.  As an added bonus, there are several wakeless zones on lake's western shore that make it ideal for stand-up paddleboarding and kayaking.

The shorelines of Horsetooth Reservoir are contained in two separate recreation entities: Horsetooth Mountain Park (managed by Larimer County Open Space) on the eastern and southwestern shores, and Lory State Park (managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife) on the northwestern shore.  Fees for both of these areas are $9/day (subject to change; check parks websites linked above).  Season passes for Colorado State Parks and Larimer County are also honored at Lory and Horsetooth, respectively, but aren't transferable.  

Horsetooth Reservoir

Vicinity Map

    Location Info [key]:

    Scenery: 3

    Shoreline Interest: 4

    Use: High

    Fee: $9/vehicle

    Access: Paved, Gravel

    Full elev = 5430; Best near full

    Water level info

    Recreation map

    Rec info - Larimer County Parks

    Rec info - Lory State Park

    Weather

Gross Reservoir

UPDATE:  Starting in 2022, reservoir expansion is underway.  Click here for updated post on Gross Reservoir recreation during construction.

Gross Reservoir is a great metro-area paddling destination in the foothills above Boulder.  The lake is non-motorized and is popular with kayaks and duckies as well as stand-up paddleboards.  It is also quite deep (max ~300 feet) and graced by steep, forested slopes around much of its shoreline.

Gross Reservoir

South Boulder Creek Arm

Gross Reservoir is an appealing destination because it's reasonably close to Front Rnage population centers, and has winding inlets and coves that offer protection from winds. It can be accessed via Highway 72 from Golden/Denver or via Flagstaff Road from Boulder.  Gross Dam Road, which is connects the two accesses, is gravel but can be mildly washboardy in places.  Osprey point, the southernmost access point, is probably the most desirable because it offers the best access to the South Boulder Creek arm of  the lake.  On summer weekends, Osprey Point may fill up early.  The South Shore access point is near the dam and has fewer shoreline features and more open water exposure to wind.   

Vicinity Map

    Location info [key]:

    

    Scenery: 4
    Shoreline Interest: 4
    Non-motorized
    Use: High
    Fee: None
    Access: Gravel
    Full elev = 7282; Best near full, 

    significant drawdown possible

    Water level info
    Rec. info

    Weather 

    Rec. map

Welcome to Colorado-SUP-Explore!

 A place to share stand-up paddle favorites and regional adventures to explore more...                                                                                                                                         

This evolving blog site is born out of passion for exploring Colorado's great outdoors and is intended to share some of the treasures and discoveries afforded through the Stand-Up Paddleboard experience.  Unlike longer-established activities like mountain biking and fourteener hiking, regional stand-up paddleboard recreation beta has not yet agglomerated with the same ease of searchability and comprehensiveness.  So this blog is an attempt to share the adventure and reward of a sport that has plenty of room for fellow Coloradoans.

The cornerstone of this blog site is an ever-evolving interactive map of Stand-up paddle locations, with characteristics and descriptors to guide in exploring them.  A glossary that explains the map information is referenced on the map headings and linked here.  

Horsetooth Reservoir, Larimer County, CO

Additionally, separate pages regarding on-the-water safety and considerations of water level and weather conditions are also referenced within. 

Dillon Reservoir, Summit County CO

Subsequent posts on this site will feature specific lakes and regions on the interactive map with more information and photos of these special places.  The map will also grow and evolve as we explore and share more destinations.  Stay tuned, have fun and be safe!