Sylvan Lake State Park
State Park in Eagle, CO
Hours:
Park: Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Office: Daily, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., as staffing permits
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
10200 Brush Creek Road
Eagle, CO 81631
United States
Sylvan Lake State Park
State Park in Eagle, CO
Hours:
Park: Daily, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Office: Daily, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., as staffing permits
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
10200 Brush Creek Road
Eagle, CO 81631
United States
Navigate to:
Person in a kayak on the lake
Activities and Trails
What to Do at Sylvan Lake
Stunning mountain scenery, abundant recreation, wildlife to watch and top-notch fishing provide year-round diversion at Sylvan Lake. The 42-acre mountain lake is stocked with trout and is popular with anglers. Other popular activities include camping, hiking, picnicking, canoeing and kayaking.
Activities
- Biking
- Boating
- Cabins
- Camping
- Cross-country Skiing
- Education Programs
- Fishing
- Geocaching
- Hiking
- Horseback Riding
- Hunting
- Ice Fishing
- Ice Skating
- Off-highway Vehicle Riding
- Paddleboarding
- Photography
- Picnicking
- Sledding
- Snowmobile Riding
- Snowshoeing
- Yurts
Best of Sylvan Lake
Sylvan Lake
The park offers visitors a 42-acre lake where they can paddleboard, canoe, kayak and fish.
Lakeside Picnicking
The picnic area offers 12 lakefront sites with beautiful views of the lake. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Watch Wildlife
The aspen forest provides habitat for a variety of mammals, including species of voles and shrews, red fox, marmots, mule deer and elk. Black bear, pine marten, coyote, porcupine, cottontail rabbit and beaver are other common inhabitants. Bird species spotted include broad-tailed hummingbirds and mountain bluebirds. Bald eagles are frequent winter residents to the park, and occasionally ospreys and common loons.
Cabins
Visitors can reserve one of the eight small camper cabins or the larger cabin located near the lake. The cabins are available for year-round rental.
Hiking, Biking, Horseback Riding and Snowshoeing
Trails
Sylvan offers visitors two trails.
There are also popular trails in the surrounding White River National Forest, where Sneve Gulch, McKenzie Gulch, Nolan Lake, Lake Charles and Ironedge are all great hikes.
Lake Shore Loop
1.5 miles
Hiking, biking, snowshoeing
West Brush Creek Trail
5.8 miles
Hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowshoeing
Lake Shore Loop
1.5 miles
Hiking, biking, snowshoeing
West Brush Creek Trail
5.8 miles
Hiking, biking, horseback riding, snowshoeing
Off-highway Vehicles and Snowmobiles
Riding Off-highway Vehicles
White River National Forest allows motorized, wheeled vehicle access to designated routes south of the state park between May 21 and November 22.
Between May 21 and November 22, visitors may ride off-highway vehicles from the Sylvan Lake State Park campground and cabins to access designated routes in the national forest.
Yurt visitors need to trailer their machines to the Yeoman Park US Forest Service campground for access.
Riders may ride 400 south to access roads 414, 431 and 413. Most portions of West Brush Creek Rd 400 and East Brush Creek Rd 415 are closed to non-highway legal motorized vehicles. Snowmobilers can ride park roads to access the surrounding White River National Forest.
Safety during Hunting Season
Most of Colorado's outdoors is multi-use and intended to be shared. Hunters and nonhunters should show respect and courtesy to all users engaged in outdoor recreation.
- Learn where and when hunting is taking place. Stay out of designated hunt areas.
- Stay on designated trails. Enjoying activities only on designated trails will reduce the likelihood of entering designated hunt areas.
- Make yourself easily visible by wearing bright clothing. Choose colors that stand out, like bright, fluorescent red, orange or green.
- For protection, it is recommended to keep your dog on a leash. Tie a brightly-colored bandana around your dog’s neck or purchase a blaze orange dog vest to make your dog more visible.
- Make noise. Alert hunters to your presence by whistling, singing or carrying on a conversation as you walk.
- If you hear shooting, raise your voice and let hunters know you are in the vicinity.
- Be courteous. Once a hunter is aware of your presence, don’t make unnecessary noise that disturbs wildlife. Avoid conflict. Please note it is illegal to intentionally interfere with hunters.
Hunting
The park is located in game management unit 44. During legal seasons, hunting is allowed in many areas of the park.
Big-game hunting is excellent in the White River National Forest, which surrounds the park.
- Hunting is prohibited within 100 yards of any facilities, including the lake, cabins, yurts, designated campground, Visitor Center, picnic area, boat ramp or nature trail.
- Waterfowl hunting at the lake is not allowed because it is near high-traffic areas.
Rentals
Equipment Rentals
Paddle boards, canoes,and sit-on-top kayaks are available for rental from the entrance gate at Sylvan Lake. The cost is $40 for a full day rental, available on a first-come, first-served basis. In winter, the Visitor Center offers complementary snowshoe rentals.