best lakes/reservoirs to swim near COS-need advice!

[Shelly7483]

I am originally from Seattle Washington and that is the one thing I miss the most. We have thousands of nice clean lakes in every city, some even within walking distance of your home. Here you have a stupid resiviour or a crowded pool you have to pay for. They really need to start building more man made lakes that are clean, free and have beach with sand to lay on.

[Thoreau424]

Sounds like more of a complaint than a question, but I agree with you nonetheless. I'm from a different part of the country too, with a great presence and quantity of lakes. Of course, that area had much more rainfall too. Lakes and water sports just aren't a big deal in CO, and not apart of the landscape and culture. It's not reasonable to expect people here to shift their interest and appreciation towards that, especially if it involves a lot of $ to make it happen. That'd be like trying to get Floridans to get excited about mountains and snow sports. The best solution is just to relocate to a different area to get "your fix". I know I will someday...

[Arrby]

This is a near-desert environment.

Reservoirs evaporate a lot of water. This is why you cannot simply dig a new pond for your land. Any riparian feature you can name has every drop of water already committed to somebody, somewhere. Dam one up and you will hear from any number of lawyers.

People here have adjusted their preferences to reality, rather than try and alter reality to their preferences.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by Shelly7483

IThey really need to start building more man made lakes that are clean, free and have beach with sand to lay on.

While you're waving that magic wand around, please include a host of rivers that are luke warm with fast rapids at their head to accomodate kayaks and slow meandering shallows downstream to accomodate tubers.

[Thoreau424]

Please also add several rivers with lots of salmon, twelve or more swimming holes surrounded by large trees, at least one large waterfall like Niagra Falls, and some surfing areas. Thanks!

[colobill]

When i lived in Seattle, I made several requests for more sunshine. When everyone ignored my request, I moved back to Colorado. Maybe you need to move back to Seattle!

[MsMetal]

I'm not big into swimming in lakes, even though I moved here from MN, but no one has mentioned Chatfield Reservoir. It's an hour away, but I'm almost positive I've seen a beach there, no?

[TCHP]

Yes, Chatfield has a swimming area, as does Cherry Creek. The problem with both of these is that they attract a huge number of Denver residents. On weekends, capacity is often reached early in the morning and waits of up to an hour or more to enter the park are not uncommon.

This is why I typically head south and east to play in the water. Too far most most Denverites for a day trip.

[Mike from back east]

Downtown at Memorial Park is Prospect Lake which has a beach and is open for swimming.