Things to do / Travel Guide
Nothing in the Colorado Rockies region can soothe the spirit more than plying alpine waters amidst breathtaking scenery. Colorado Rockies' lakes and reservoirs sit like pools of cobalt-blue glass beneath wide azure skies. Give yourself a few hours to adjust to their high elevation and startling beauty. Conveniently, many of the best pleasure boating sites have full-service marinas offering boat rental services.
Boating near Steamboat Springs
Stagecoach Reservoir, located several miles southeast of Steamboat Springs in Northwest Colorado, is a 780-acre lake set amidst pleasant grassy knolls and the lush green rolling hills of the Yampa Valley. You can expect to take a peaceful float amidst gentle scenery. Another added bonus: the air around the reservoir is significantly cooler than that of Stagecoach Springs, so pleasure boaters can enjoy the relief in the summer. The Stagecoach Marina offers rentals for fishing, paddleboats, and pontoon boats.
Boating near Grand Junction
The over 200 stream-fed lakes atop Northwest Colorado's Grand Mesa, the world's largest flat-topped mountain, are also local favorites. Two-mile-long Vela Reservoir, at an altitude of 8,000 feet, sits on the western edge of the Grand Mesa National Forest, and boating ramps are also available at the following lakes and reservoirs: Cottonwood Number One, Big Creek Reservoir, Island Lake, Eggleston Lake, Tricket Park Reservoir, Ward Lake, and Youngs Creek Reservoir. Firs, spruces, and aspens will stand silent witness as you navigate your way through the verdant alpine woodlands. If you just can't take the summer heat and want to have a fall forest outing in the middle of August, this is the place. Even when Grand Junction's thermometers read a sweltering 90°, you may just need a sweater when boating on the Grand Mesa. Indeed, you might feel a bit ridiculous lugging a thick woolen garment in the midst of summer, but the drastic change in climate at this altitude is remarkable. If you're lucky, it just might even snow. The Grand Mesa Lodge rents rowboats and small personal watercraft.
Boating near Leadville
For quintessential Colorado scenery, the kind that makes your jaw drop, your heart soar, and your eyes widen, Twin Lakes in South-Central Colorado is the place. Sitting like a sparkling sapphire at the base of Colorado's tallest peak Mt. Elbert, Twin Lakes lures many a tourist to its calm waters and dramatic Colorado's skylines. These two lakes (once separate, now joined) rank among Colorado's largest natural, glacial lakes, and feature jagged mountain backdrops, scraggy pines, and the kind of smooth water that gently ribbons in your wake. Boat rentals of all types are easily found near Twin Lakes.
Boating near Gunnison
You can rent pontoon boats and fishing boats at the Elk Creek Marina and Lake Fork Marina on 20-mile long Blue Mesa Reservoir in Curecanti National Recreation Area, west of Gunnison in Southwest Colorado. Tour the narrow canals within secluded, craggy, canyons or sail across the 9,000 acres of open waters that comprise the reservoir, Colorado's largest body of water. As you sail, watch the shoreline shift dramatically from sharp, rocky cliffs, to soft, sandy beaches. Blue Mesa Reservoir is a popular fishing spot on early spring and summer weekends (it is the largest Kokanee salmon fishery in the United States), so if you want a little “alone time” with the rocks and water, try boating mid-week in spring and summer, or plan a trip in late fall to avoid the crowds.
Boating near Ridgway
Not to be outdone, Ridgway Lake in Ridgway State Park, about 20 miles south of Montrose in Southwest Colorado, provides 1,000 acres of crystal-clear indigo waters flanked by pinyon-juniper forest and the snow-capped summits of the Sneffel Mountain Range admiringly called the “Switzerland of America.” In the summer, jetskiers, waterskiers, and powerboats ply the waters of Ridgway Lake, a focal point for the many vacationers who visit Ridgway State Park. If you are looking to be amidst a water-loving, fun-having summer crowd you will want to come here. But if you want to escape the summer heat hubbub, the further away you travel from the marina, the quieter your pleasure boating excursion will be. Ridgway Marina is a full-service marina complete with boat launches and a wide range of boat rentals. Ridgway State Park has also been recognized as one of the most accessible recreation areas in the U.S. for the physically challenged.
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