Lake Kayaking (Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Woodland Park: 2013, camping, dangerous)

[esas]

Good evening. Are there any places within 1-2 hours of C Springs for lake kayaking? Thanks!

[beezle1]

Pueblo reservoir is one that comes to mind.

[StarrySkiesAbove]

Close to the Springs, Pueblo Reservoir (Lake Pueblo State Park) as beezle mentioned. Also John Martin Reservoir is under 2 hours drive. Lake DeWeese near Westcliffe is about 2 hours away, it's smaller but no large power boats so that is nice when you are in a kayak.

In Teller County there are some reservoirs (Rampart Range, Eleven Mile) but the high altitude makes the water very cold and dangerous. In that water survival time is short and there have been several deaths.

In Colorado Springs Prospect Lake in Memorial Park and Quail Lake (which is always non motorized) This link shows you the schedule for non motorized watercraft on Prospect Lake so you don't get run over by water skiers or a jet ski.

It also has the information for boating on both lakes, hours, regulations etc.

http://www.springsgov.com/units/park...ide%202013.pdf

[esas]

Thank you!

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by esas

Good evening. Are there any places within 1-2 hours of C Springs for lake kayaking? Thanks!

In no particular order:
1. Rampart Reservoir
2. Monument Lake*
3. Eleven Mile reservoir
4. Lake Pueblo
5. Manitou Lake*
(there are others, but start with those)

* No power boats allowed (small boats with electric trolling motors are usually excepted from such rules)

Rampart is probably the most scenic, with some really nice coves. Monument is the closest (not including city lakes), but is pretty small, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your pref. Eleven Mile is really great along it's rocky NE shore, but it gets really windy in the afternoon. Spinney gets even windier (talking 60mph regularly, which can be a real danger to a canoe/kayak, which is why I didn't list it). Lake Pueblo is pretty easy to get to and it's big. But it's not as scenic as the Mtn one's (IMO) and it can be a little too big and open for small boaters, esp. with all the power boats. Manitou is a pretty little paddling-only lake with easy paddling on why 67 not far from Woodland Park.

Further afield you have:
Twin Lakes, which is probably one of the most beautiful highway-accessible lakes in CO.
Lake Dillon, very pretty with lots of coves on the NW shore, but it's right off I-70 and can feel like a circus if you enter from the main marina.
Blue Mesa, the only lake entirely inside CO which is suited for multi-day boat-camping trips. It is narrow with lots of fingers, which is ideal for paddlers. Also, it's relatively sheltered from the wind because of the high wall surrounding much of it. The only drawback is that it's kind of far and really too big to see much of if you only have a day.
Granby, our answer to Lake Tahoe (Tahoe wins by far though… no aspersions on Granby). But again it's kind of too big for a paddler to see much of unless you're on a multi-day excursion. And the area has been hard-hid by the bark beetle so it's not the most scenic right now.
Navajo Lake, our answer to Lake Powell. It's mostly in New Mexico, but I believe it is our best lake for serious paddling because it is very long and narrow and the weather (esp. the wind) is more mild in the lower elevations of the 4-corners area. Also, you can camp freely along much of its NM-shoreline because most of it's shared CO-NM state park. It's far to drive to though and it gets really hot in the summertime.
Rihdway is also one of my favorites because it's in the San Juans, very close to Ouray and has excellent camping facilities around it.
And many others…

I'm not sure what you're into though. Smaller lakes are usually best for paddling because you can easily see the whole thing and power boats usually aren't allowed. I've been informally working on a sort of open source book/web resource for flat water paddling in CO for a while now, because there are few good resources for it. Maybe it's time to get back to it soon.

[otowi]

What about Brush Hollow or Catamount Reservoirs?

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by otowi

What about Brush Hollow or Catamount Reservoirs?

I haven't made it to either of those yet, but I've read about them and talked to friends who have been there and my understanding is that those are also good options. I just can't say 1st hand.

[toxicavenger]

Kind of hike to get a kayak up to the Catamounts. The Catamount Trail on the North Face of Pikes Peak

[otowi]

I have hiked it, but you can also drive right up to them.

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by otowi

I have hiked it, but you can also drive right up to them.

Good info, I didn't know that. Do you happen to have directions on how to get up there by car? I would love to make the drive.