Colorado Trail - Waterton Closure

Waterton Canyon Closure & CT Segment 1 Alternative

The Colorado Trail begins near Denver and, normally, through Waterton Canyon.

Waterton Canyon (CT Seg. 1, first 7 miles) will be closed as follows:

- Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 until Sunday, Dec. 3, 2010

- Monday, Feb. 28, 2011 until Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011

Closure is to facilitate the dredging and silt removal from Strontia Springs Reservoir and being handled by Denver Water, the organization who has jurisdiction and administers Waterton Canyon. See the Denver Water press release below plus the Denver Water FAQ page for the Waterton Canyon Closure.

Users of The Colorado Trail (CT) will not be able to access the CT from the normal terminus on the Denver end. What's a CT user to do?

For a printable version of closure map, click map image above. This map also includes information about parking and camping at the Indian Creek Trailhead.

The map link on this page can help. The map, "CT Segment 1 Alternate to Waterton Canyon," details one alternative including some info on parking and camping. It shows how to access the CT from Indian Creek Trailhead, located about 10 miles west of Sedalia on Colorado 67. From this alternate trailhead, users can travel 6 miles on a singletrack, dirt trail and connect with the CT near Lenny's Rest (mile 8 on CT Seg. 1) above Waterton Canyon and the closure. See map.

Another alternative would be to skip CT Seg. 1 entirely. Users could begin at the division point between CT Segments 1 and 2 "South Platte Canyon," along Foxton Road (County Road 96/97) that connects Conifer and Deckers. See the Official Guidebook of The Colorado Trail Foundation for detail on CT segments, access points and other aspects of The Colorado Trail.

For additional information you can email the CTF office in Golden, ctf@ColoradoTrail.org, or phone (303) 384-3729.

Segment 1:

**NEWSFLASH**
June 17, 2010

Vital Reservoir Work to Close Waterton Canyon
Denver Water to remove massive amounts of Hayman Fire sediment

June 17, 2010:

Denver Water’s Strontia Springs Reservoir contains more than one million cubic yards of sediment — a result of forest fires and subsequent intense rains over the years. Increased sediment creates reservoir operational challenges and causes water quality issues that impact the functions of the Foothills and Marston water treatment plants. As a result, a Denver Water contractor will dredge the reservoir to remove at least 625,000 cubic yards of sediment — enough to fill the football field at Invesco to a height of more than 200 feet.

This large-scale project will require heavy machinery and equipment. To ensure the safety of those who recreate in the area, Waterton Canyon will be closed to the public for a number of months in 2010 and 2011 while the majority of the work takes place.

Waterton Canyon will be closed as follows:
-       Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 until Sunday, Dec. 3, 2010
-       Monday, Feb. 28, 2011 until Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011

Neither the parking lot at the canyon's entrance nor the canyon will be accessible during the closure. Some contractor activity will precede this date but there will be flaggers to caution the public during July.

Access to The Colorado Trail (CT) from Waterton Canyon also will be closed during these times. The next closest access to CT Segment 1 is via the Indian Creek Trailhead on CO Hwy 67, 10.5 miles west of Sedalia.

“We understand that Waterton Canyon is a very popular recreation site for people of all ages, and we know some will be inconvenienced by this closure,” said Neil Sperandeo, manager of recreation for Denver Water. “When the full scope of the project was completed, it was determined it would be unsafe to leave the canyon open during construction. We hope to make the canyon even better for recreation when it reopens in 2012.”

For questions related to recreation, e-mail recreation@denverwater.org. For more information about Waterton Canyon, visit www.denverwater.org.

Stacy Chesney
Denver Water
Media Relations
Office: (303) 628-6584
Cell: (720) 232-7214
stacy.chesney@denverwater.org