Chatfield State Park
State Park in Littleton, CO
Hours:
Park: 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Office: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Campground Office: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
11500 N. Roxborough Park Rd.
Littleton, CO 80125
United States
Chatfield State Park
State Park in Littleton, CO
Hours:
Park: 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Office: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Campground Office: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
11500 N. Roxborough Park Rd.
Littleton, CO 80125
United States
Navigate to:
Reservoir Closure -
Reservoir closed to all boats and paddle craft.
Perimeter Trail Closure -
Due to ongoing removal of dead and dying trees, the Fox Run Group Picnic Area, including the parking lot and other day use areas on the west side of the park, will be closed. A larger closure that will affect multiple day use areas and the perimeter trail will go into place in mid-January.
Parking Area Closed for Construction -
The South lot of the Gravel Ponds Parking Area will be closed this winter from mid-November through spring for construction operations related to shoreline erosion control and access improvements. The North and Middle lots will remain open for use, but watch for construction traffic. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause as we work to improve the facilities and ensure the sustainability of our natural resources.
Welcome to Chatfield State Park
The area around Chatfield State Park has been inhabited for a long time. Today, the park draws many visitors year-round looking for water recreation and outdoor adventures of all kinds. Float your boat in the lake, water ski, bicycle or hike on a trail with scenic views of the neighboring foothills and the Platte River valley, camp, ride a horse and even fly a model airplane. Campers have their choice of 197 campsites all with electrical hookups, and many with full hookups (water, sewer and electric), in four campgrounds. In addition to the single-family campsites, there are 10 reservable group camping sites available.
5,381
acres
345
bird species
32.8
miles of trails
197
campsites
GPS DIRECTIONS
Accessing the Park
Do not enter “Chatfield State Park” into your mapping app. It will give you the wrong directions.
Instead, enter one of these addresses: 9700 S Wadsworth Blvd, Littleton, 80128 or 11500 N Roxborough Park Rd, Littleton 80125
The office is located inside the park on the east side, toward the middle of the reservoir, between the Heronry Picnic Area and the campground.
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Located at the Swim Beach and the Park Office, accessible by either the Plum Creek or Deer Creek Entrance.
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 |
Colorado residents 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 |
Additional Passes
Pass |
Description |
Duration |
Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dog Off-leash Daily Pass |
Handler and up to three dogs |
1 Day |
$3 |
|
Dog Off-leash Annual Pass |
Handler and up to three dogs |
1 Year |
$25 |
Nature and Wildlife
Large areas of open space and the diversity of terrain and plant life at Chatfield provide habitat for an abundance of wildlife.
Be on the Lookout for Birds
Can you spot all 212+ bird species? Download the Bird List Brochure (PDF).
Birds You Might Find
- Mallard
- American White Pelican
- House Wren
- Yellow-breasted Chat
Mammals You Might Find
- Deer
- Elk
- Coyote
- Red Fox
Reptiles and Amphibians You Might Find
- Prairie Rattlesnake
- Western Hognose
- Snapping Turtle
- Six Lined Racerunner
Geology at This Park
Chatfield State Park is situated in the lower foothills of the Front Range on the southwestern edge of Denver. At an elevation of 5,450 feet, Chatfield sits on a gently rolling plain covered with alluvial cobble, gravel, sand, silt and clay, with some exposures of older sandstones and shales.
Habitats and Plants at This Park
Ecologically, the park is diverse as a result of a variety of topographic and hydrologic features. The rolling hills of park uplands are dominated by mixed-prairie communities of short and midgrasses, including sand dropseed, needle-and-thread, blue grams, western wheatgrass, little bluestem, and fortes such as blazing star, purple and white prairie clover, hairy golden aster, fringed sagewort, winterfat, yucca and prickly-pear cactus. The reservoir shoreline, South Platte River and Plum Creek floodplains support large wetland, riparian and aquatic communities. Ponds and wetland habitats have also been created at the southwestern edge of the park through a cooperative venture with the neighboring Lockheed-Martin facility.
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Park History
Chatfield and the surrounding landscape is one of the oldest continuously human-inhabited sites on the continent.
- The Lamb Springs Archaeological Preserve, just south of the park, has provided evidence that paleo humans hunted or scavenged Ice Age animals, including Columbian mammoths, between 9,000 and 8,400 years ago.
- Prior to European contact, the Mouache Ute claimed much of the Front Range. Equestrian plains tribes, such as the Jicarilla Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, Lakota and Arapaho, also occupied the area at various points. For all, water was an often contested resource.
- In the early 1800s, horses brought the Cheyenne from the upper Great Lakes region to the West. Through an alliance with the Arapaho, the land of both Chatfield and Cherry Creek State Park became established Cheyenne-Arapaho trading council sites by 1815.
- The South Platte River was also an essential trade route for European and American fur trappers. Slocum Cabin, one of the last fur trading posts built in Colorado, is recognized as one of the oldest structures in the Denver area.
- In 1858, gold was discovered at Dry Creek, a twenty-minute drive north of Chatfield. This kicked off the Colorado Gold Rush. The skirmishes between Anglo-American settlers and native tribes tragically culminated in the Sand Creek Massacre on November 29, 1864. In response to the massacre, a Cheyenne-Arapaho war raid occurred at Chatfield’s present site a few days later. A decades-long conflict known as the “Indian War of ‘64” followed.
- In 1874, Union Army veteran Edward Livingston Chatfield bought land at the Plum Creek-South Platte River confluence from his cousin. Having participated in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War and spent time in POW camps, Chatfield was looking for a place to heal, by all accounts.
- During his 25 years as Littleton’s city water works operator, he oversaw the layering of pipes and the construction of the city’s water department. By the time of his death in 1924, Littleton's system rivaled Denver Water for both quality and access. Chatfield's legacy lives on today through the reservoir that bears his name.
- Chatfield Reservoir itself was originally designed as a buffer against floods. In June 1965, catastrophic flooding along the Plum Creek and South Platte killed 25 people, injured 327 and cost the area millions of dollars in damages. In response, the Army Corps of engineers began constructing the Chatfield Dam and Reservoir in 1967, completing the project in 1975.