Opening dates announced for Spinney Mountain and Eleven Mile State Parks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jason Clay
Northeast Region Public Information Officer
303-291-7234 / [email protected]
@CPW_NE

Photo from the 2021 opening day of Spinney Mountain State Park, courtesy of Jason Clay/CPW. It is hard to find any that is better in such a peaceful and scenic setting.

LAKE GEORGE, Colo. - Colorado Parks and Wildlife Rangers at Eleven Mile and Spinney Mountain State Parks have solidified opening dates for boating at the two neighboring parks in Park County.

Eleven Mile will open its north boat ramp on Saturday, April 30, one half-hour before sunrise. Its Witcher’s Cover boat ramp will open at a future date when adequate staffing levels are in place to operate the Aquatic Nuisance Species inspection station at that location.

Spinney Mountain State Park, which is only open seasonally, will open its gates on Saturday, May 7. The north boat ramp will open one half-hour before sunrise that day.

“We had a damaging wind event that blew ice, large boulders and dirt onto our north boat ramp at Spinney,” said Park Manager Darcy Mount. “It is nearly three-foot deep on the ramp and heavy equipment work is required to clear it and to also fix some of the damage to the breakwater chains there at the ramp. Now that the ice is off, we are working diligently to get both reservoirs open for boaters”

The ice covering both reservoirs finally cleared off overnight Thursday into Friday morning, thanks to the strong winds that are common in that part of Park County. With the ice now off, Park Rangers will be working hard to inspect the reservoirs for any hazards, get them and the boat ramps ready so boaters can safely operate, and repair the damage done in Thursday night’s wind storm.

CPW and Aurora Water, who owns Spinney Mountain Reservoir, updated their recreational management agreement which set April 15 as the earliest day the park will open, or when the ice is completely off.

Previous opening dates for Spinney Mountain State Park:

2021 - Gates opened April 23 to hand-launched vessels only; low water levels prevented the boat ramps from opening until June 4
2020 - April 29
2019 - April 27
2018 - April 1
2017 - April 1
2016 - April 8
2015 - April 10
2014 - April 30
2013 - Gates opened April 29 to hand-launched vessels only, boat ramps opened on May 29
2012 - April 2
2011 - April 6
2010 - May 1
2009 - gates opened on March 27, the boat ramps opened on April 4

Spinney Mountain State Park can be open from April 15-Nov. 15, only if there is no ice covering the reservoir at the beginning and ending of that designated season.

To learn more about Spinney Mountain State Park, and its world class gold medal fishing, please click here.

For information on Eleven Mile State Park, and additional recreational activities such as camping, fishing and hiking, please click here.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.