Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
State Park in Salida, CO
Hours:
Park: Open 24 hours a day, year-round
Visitor Center: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
307 West Sackett Ave.
Salida, CO 81201-1654
United States
Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
State Park in Salida, CO
Hours:
Park: Open 24 hours a day, year-round
Visitor Center: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
307 West Sackett Ave.
Salida, CO 81201-1654
United States
Navigate to:
Construction Closures: Parkdale Boat Ramp, Ruby Mountain -
Parkdale Boat Ramp is under construction through 4/15/25. Ruby Mountain Recreation Site & Fisherman's Bridge are closed through 5/18/2025. There is a full road closure of County Rd. 300 near MM 2.2 at the entrance into Browns Canyon 8am-12pm & 1pm- 6pm daily. The affected section of Arkansas River from Fisherman's Bridge, continuing Southeast to Ruby Mountain Campground, will be open to passing boat traffic. During blasting or heavy scaling, a flagger will be in the river & there may be up to a 2-hour wait to pass. Fisherman's Bridge Recreation Site is under complete closure & Ruby Mountain Recreation Site is closed to camping during this time.
Waterflow Readings
High Water Advisories
| Rapid | Advisory in Effect | High Water Advisement | High Water Equipment Advisement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers | No | It is recommended that the Numbers (Section 1E) not be run when the river is flowing over 2400 cfs at the Numbers/Below Granite gage as read at 7:00 am for full day or morning trips and at 12:00 noon for afternoon Numbers trips. |
|
| Pine Creek Rapid | No | It is recommended that Pine Creek Rapid (within Section 1D) not be run when the river is flowing over 1250 cfs at the Numbers/Below Granite gauge as read at 7:00 a.m. for full day or morning trips. |
|
| Royal Gorge | No | It is recommended that the Royal Gorge (Section 5) not be run at flows over 3200 cfs at the Parkdale gauge as read at 7:00 a.m. for full day or morning trips and at 12:00 noon for afternoon Royal Gorge trips. |
|
Colors of Water
View the Colors of Water report on the Arkansas Basin Water Operations Dashboard.
Announcements
| Date | Announcement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| October 3, 2024 | Decrease in Twin Release | From USBR: We are going to decrease the release from Twin Lakes by 25 cfs today at 0930 hrs. After the gate operation, we’ll be releasing 47 cfs- about 2 cfs of account and the rest native. |
| October 2, 2024 | Decrease in Twin Release | From USBR: We’re finished with the big releases from accounts from Twin for the moment. We’re going to decrease the release to almost native by cutting 35 cfs at 09:30. After the gate operation, we’ll be releasing 66 cfs- about 2 cfs of account and the rest native. |
| September 30, 2024 | Decrease in Twin Release | From USBR: Most account releases from Twin are ending tonight so we’re going to start decreasing the total release from Twin at 09:00 this morning with a 40 cfs cut to the total release. After the gate operation, we’ll be releasing 100 cfs- 82 of account and the rest native. |
| September 27, 2024 | Decrease in Turquoise Release | From USBR: We’re going to decrease the release from Turquoise down Lake Fork to 3 cfs at 09:00 this morning to aid Lake County with replacing culverts. The work should be done in November which is when we would start holding the release at 3 cfs for the winter. I don’t foresee a change from 3 cfs until next spring unless we can’t move water through Mt Elbert conduit this winter. |
| September 23, 2024 | Increase in Twin Release | From USBR: |
Waterflow Levels
The information below depicts the Flow Program Target and the flow of the Arkansas River as measured in cubic feet per second (cfs) at the Wellsville Gauge near Salida, CO. This page also tracks, in acre feet (af), the amount of water released as part of the summer component of the Voluntary Flow Program. For reference, a flow of 1 cfs for 24 hours is 1.98 af.
Waterflow Summary
Program Water
1000
Flow Program Releases
793
Estimated Program Water Remaining
207
Waterflow Gauge Locations
| Gauge | Value | Water Flow Data |
|---|---|---|
| Wellsville | 273 cfs |