No Where To Swim? (Denver, Aurora: house, neighborhoods, living in)

[RATT]

I RED IN THE EXCELLENT thread bythe_koolkat Give me 10 reasons NOT to move to Denver... WHERE OBERON said (no beaches or large bodies of water. If water recreation is a serious thing for you, don't come here. There are some places you can go for waterskiing, ski-doos, small boats, and there is a large water park in Federal Heights called Water World, but that's about it.) I AM SURPRISE TO READ THIS SINCE I HAVE RED ELSEWHERE THAT DENVER AS 3 STATE PARKS AND 1 RESERVOIR WITHIN 25 MILES RADIUS WITCH ALL HAVE beaches.... NO? IF NOT SHOULD ONE UPON MOVING TO DENVER (if pos.)BUILT A PRIVATE POOL?

[Gunluvver2]

If you want to swim in Lakes or farm ponds you need to go to the Eastern Plains of Colorado or cross over into Nebraska and visit Lake MacCoughnahay at Ogallala or others. Colorado Mountain Lakes are great to look at but unless you are a Polar Bear swimming is too challenging. I grew up in Yuma County, as far East as you can get and still be in Colorado. In my opinion it is the best part of Colorado. The mountains are great to visit. . . but living in them? Forget it. I'll take the flatlands anytime.

[Katarina Witt]

I can't tell where you're from, but these "beaches" are very small compared to the standards of the east/midwest. They are all reservoirs. Oberon is correct.

[vegaspilgrim]

Don't ever, ever swim in Cherry Creek Reservoir, or Aurora, Chatfield, or any other man made reservoir. Not only are there E-coli outbreaks there all the time, people have drowned over the years there, getting tangled up in weeds. It is plain stupid. Stick to the neighborhood swimming pool.

[oberon]

I stand by my words. I would actually encourage you to not build a private pool, but rather to use public pools, as that's more environmentally sensitive. And all of us in Colorado need to be sensitive to our water resources, especially in the next 50 years as the state population grows and annual water runoffs remain low.

I've swam in Chatfield Lake while water skiing, and although I think vegaspilgrim's exaggerating a bit, it's definitely not a recreational swimming lake.

[flyingbuffalos]

Originally Posted by oberon

I stand by my words. I would actually encourage you to not build a private pool, but rather to use public pools, as that's more environmentally sensitive. And all of us in Colorado need to be sensitive to our water resources, especially in the next 50 years as the state population grows and annual water runoffs remain low.

Bravo, Oberon!! Flying over cities in Texas, as many parts of the southern U.S., in neighborhood after neighborhood you see a swimming pool in every yard. Texas' own Edwards Aquifer is suffering a fate similar to that of the Ogalalla. There is a distinct advantage in neighborhoods with community pools. I'm glad to see so many of them as we look around Denver neighborhoods.
Speaking of water, I saw I think a commercial last night about saving water while brushing your teeth. They were appealing to your money-saving sensibilities. The point was that over the two minutes that you brush your teeth, 8 gallons of water goes down the drain. In a household of 4, that would be 64 gallons/day, or 21,000 gallons every year. I have become very conscientious about this over the last few years, and it drives me nuts when I see people running water for no good reason.
OK, I'll get off my little soap box now. But, thanks again, Oberon.

[MileHi5]

Several years ago I did a triathlon around Cherry Creek Reservoir. The water was very murky and the week before the reservoir had been closed for swimming due to high levels of contamination. I certainly wouldn't choose to swim there for recreation.

[denverian]

I wouldn't swim in any lake anywhere. Yuk! I can walk from my house to three public pools, and that's fine with me.

[steveco.]

You might find it better in northern colorado also. Im not sure but I think horsetooth resivoire just west of fort collins is huge and seems fairly safe.

[tfox]

I think most of the "beaches" around Denver are better for getting your toes wet than for swimming. As mentioned, there are better opportunities for swimming a bit further afield: Horsetooth, Pueblo Res, etc.