Rollins Pass East

The road that ascends from the Peak-to-Peak Highway to Rollins Pass follows a century-old rail crossing over the continental divide.  It is bumpy and tedious to drive, but rewards with a cluster of small paddleboarding lakes that can be easily accessed from the road.  Yankee Doodle, Jenny and Upper Forest Lakes are all refreshing summertime escapes, each with their own distinct sub-alpine settings.  There are scattered, primitive camping sites along Rollins Pass Road and any of these lakes make a nice addition to a car-camp outing here.  The upper parts of the road usually don't melt out until July.  Road status can be checked on the forest service website.  

Upper Forest Lake

The eastern approach to the pass departs the CO-119 segment of the Peak to Peak Highway at the small town of Rollinsville.  It is right where the Denver & Rio Grande West tracks cross under the highway, 2 miles south of the junction of highways 119 and 72, or 14 miles north of Blackhawk.  From Rollinsville, County Road 16 (Tolland Road) travels west through the rustic community of Tolland toward the east portal of the Moffat Tunnel.  At 6.5 miles from Rollinsville, just before East Portal, the Rollins Pass road turns sharply east (Forest Road 149) to begin its gently ascending path on the railroad grade up Rollins Pass.  The road becomes rougher and more potholed beyond this point, but is still navigable with a moderate-clearance vehicle--it just requires slow speeds and some patience.  The first Lake to appear is Yankee Doodle at 9.2 miles past the East Portal junction.  

Vicinity Map

    Location Info: [key]

    (Yankee / Jenny / Forest)

    
    Scenery: 4 / 3 / 5
    Shoreline Interest: 2 / 1 / 3
    

    Use: Low-moderate
    Fee: None
    Access: High Clearance 2WD,

    + 0.3 mi. hike for Upper Forest,

    4WD for Jenny Lake
    Full elev = 10700-10850; 

    minimal water level change
    Weather

Chatfield has gotten a lot bigger for paddleboards

The spring of 2023 has brought a lot of water to Colorado's Front Range.  It has been one of the most effective reservoir-filling events in memory.  All 3 of Denver's primary flood control reservoirs (Chatfield, Cherry Creek and Bear Creek) saw substantial surges in storm runoff.  The resulting rise in water level opened up new fronts of paddleboarding along all of the lakes' wooded inlets.  By the beginning of summer, the waters had gradually receded in Cherry Creek and Bear Creek.  Chatfield was different.  Under the reservoir's new re-allocation program, the waters continued to rise until they reached a new storage pool elevation of 5444.

Unbounded paddling on the Platte River Inlet

Purgatory Area

The southern leg of the Million Dollar Highway traverses several magnificent landscapes between the heights of Coal Bank Pass and the lazy flats of Durango's Animas Valley.  Paralleling this segment of the road for many miles are the colorful Hermosa Cliffs, which rise up 2000 feet immediately west.  The area around Purgatory Ski Mountain, in particular, hides an unlikely concentration of mid-elevation lakes on a bench of lumpy terrain between the base of the cliffs and the Animas River Gorge.  Not all of the lakes in this area are open to public use, but the ones that are have some great paddleboarding waters with especially photogenic surroundings.   

Beautiful Potato Lake

Haviland Lake

Haviland Lake sits at the foot of the Hermosa Cliffs, right about at their midpoint.  It is accessed from County Road 671, about 8.5 miles north of Hermosa or 9 miles south of Purgatory on U.S. 550.  The lake is 0.8 miles east of U.S. 550. and has roadside parking with shore access.  Haviland is a wake-free and sees very little variation in water level. 

Vicinity Map: Haviland & Electra

    Location Info: [key]

    Haviland Lake

    Scenery: 4
    Shoreline Interest: 3
    Use: Moderate
    Fee: SWA Pass required
    Access: Gravel
    Full elev = 8106; natural
    Rec info 
    Rec map 
    Weather 

Molas Lake

Molas Lake sits placidly along one of the most vista-rich stretches of the Million Dollar Highway.  

While the famed Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad winds through the treacherous depths of the Animas River Gorge, U.S. 550 elegantly skirts the most rugged terrain via Coal Bank and Molas Passes.  An unlikely flat near the top of the pass provides a perched setting for Molas Lake.  Two additional lakes--Little Molas and Andrews--offer more paddling options very close by.  

Paddling in the heart of the San Juan Mountains

Molas Lake

Highly visible from U.S. 550, Molas Lake is located 5 miles south of Silverton--just below the summit of Molas Pass.  The lake is actually just outside of the San Juan National Forest boundary.  It is owned by the Town of Silverton and managed as a town park, open to the general public.  The town also operates a campground on the east shores of the lake; the west side is open for day use, free of charge.  A small, lakeside store at the campground entrance also offers paddleboard and kayak rentals.  

Vicinty Map

Location Info: [key]

(Molas / Little Molas / Andrews)

Scenery: 5 / 4 / 3
Shoreline Interest: 3 / 1 / 2
Use: Mod-High / Mod-Low / Mod-Low
Fee: None for day use
Access: Gravel
Full elev = 10520 / 10920 / 10800
Rec. info 

Rec. map
Weather