Steamboat Lake State Park
State Park in Clark, CO
Hours:
Park: Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Office: Sunday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
61105 RCR 129
Clark, CO 80428
United States
Steamboat Lake State Park
State Park in Clark, CO
Hours:
Park: Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Office: Sunday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
61105 RCR 129
Clark, CO 80428
United States
An aerial view of part of the park showing off campgrounds and a large section of the lake and surrounding forest
Welcome to Steamboat Lake State Park
Nestled in the heart of Colorado, Steamboat Lake State Park is a true gem, catering to a diverse range of interests. Majestic Hahns Peak serves as a picturesque backdrop to this top-tier park, where families can enjoy fishing, camping, picnicking, hiking trails and boating. With a full-service marina and a sandy beach, the park also provides excellent amenities for those seeking water adventures.
2,820
acres
196
campsites
25
picnic sites
35.6
miles of trails
Directions
Accessing the Park
From Steamboat Springs
Go west two miles on US 40 to County Road 129 (also called Elk River Road). Turn north and drive 25 miles. The Visitor Center is on the left-hand side of the road.
The Visitor Center is located on the northeast side of Steamboat Lake before Placer Cover campground and accessible from County Road 129.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Northwest Boat Ramp and Marina
The boat ramp and Steamboat Lake Marina are located on the northwest corner of the lake and accessed from County Road 62.
Placer Cove Boat Ramp
The Placer Cove boat ramp is located on the northwest side of the lake, near Placer Cove campground, accessible from County Road 129.
Fees and Passes
Pass |
Description |
Duration |
Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Daily Vehicle Pass |
Single vehicle and its occupants |
1 Day |
$10 |
|
Individual Daily Pass |
For individual entry on foot, bicycle, horseback, etc at select parks |
1 Day |
$4 |
|
DMV vehicle registration renewal option for Colorado residents |
12 Months |
$29 |
|
|
Annual Vehicle Pass (Affixed) |
Pass for a single vehicle and its occupants |
12 Months |
$80 |
|
Family Annual Pass (Hang Tag) |
Members of the same household |
12 Months |
$120 |
|
Aspen Leaf Annual Pass |
Visitors 64+ |
12 Months |
$70 |
|
Centennial Pass |
Income-eligible Colorado residents |
12 Months |
$14 |
|
Columbine Pass |
Colorado residents with disabilities |
12 Months |
$14 |
|
Veterans License Plate |
DMV vehicle registration renewal option for military veterans (disabled veterans or purple heart plates) |
Lifetime |
Free |
|
Independence Lifetime Pass |
Colorado resident veterans with disabilities |
Lifetime |
Free |
|
Blue Spruce Pass |
Colorado resident first responders with disabilities |
Lifetime |
$10 |
Nature and Wildlife
At Steamboat Lake State Park, you'll find a large reservoir spanning 1,100 acres, nestled at an elevation of 8,000 feet in the Willow Creek Valley of the Park Range. Keep an eye out for familiar creatures like mule deer and red foxes. Black bear, moose and mountain lion sightings are sometimes reported. The park is a haven for birdwatchers, with over 200 species of migratory and resident birds, including northern harriers, ospreys, great blue herons and western screech owls.
Be on the Lookout for Birds
Can you spot all the resident and visiting bird species? Download the Bird List Brochure (PDF).
Wildlife at Steamboat Lake.
Birds You Might Find
- Northern Harrier
- Downy Woodpecker
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Great Blue Heron
Mammals You Might Find
- North American Porcupine
- American Badger
- Yellow-bellied Marmot
- Muskrat
Reptiles and Amphibians You Might Find
- Striped Chorus Frog
- Tiger Salamander
- Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
- Boreal Chorus Frog
Geology at This Park
Visitors to Steamboat Lake State Park encounter different layers of rocks and soils that tell a fascinating story about the Earth's history. On the west and north sides, there's a layer of Holocene alluvium, which is essentially loose material like soil and gravel deposited by water that once covered the area. The primary Tertiary formation is Brown's Park Sandstone, a kind of sedimentary rock formed over a long period of time. This rock has layers of silicic ash beds, and it's a bit like nature's historical record, preserving traces of volcanic activity. Along the lake’s north shore is a small section of intrusive silicic porphyry. Intrusive means it was formed underground, and porphyry refers to a type of igneous rock with distinct crystals embedded in a finer matrix.
Habitats and Plants at This Park
The major native plant communities at Steamboat Lake include Sagebrush shrubland (sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, needlegrass, lupine, mule's ears and prairie junegrass), lodgepole pine forest, northern subalpine forest (Englemann's spruce and Colorado blue spruce), aspen forest, willow carr wetland , marsh (sedge, rushes and bulrushes) and wet meadow.
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History
The Utes used the land that is now Steamboat Lake State Park as seasonal hunting grounds. Routt County Road 129, which leads from Steamboat Springs to Steamboat and Pearl lakes, was once a trail used by Native Americans as they moved across the land, following the seasonal migration paths of the animals they hunted. Because early peoples migrated through the area and did not build settlements, few archeological artifacts have been recovered.
As mining declined in the early 20th century, ranching became a primary industry, first with cattle and later sheep. Grazing rights were contested between cattle and sheep ranchers during the “sheep and cattle wars.” John Kelly Heart and his wife Pearl were sheep ranchers where Pearl Lake now is located. Remaining historical sites include a saw mill site, the Quealy Cabin and the Wheeler Homestead area. Most of the Wheeler homestead was burned and inundated by Steamboat Lake.