Sylvan Lake among state parks experiencing water shortages, reduced boating access
Colorado Parks and Wildlife issues visitor advisory for Sylvan Lake and Rifle Gap state parks
Ben Roof / Special to the Vail Daily
Impacts from Colorado’s extreme drought conditions are hitting several state parks in the state’s northwest corner.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced emergency water conservation measures and boating restrictions at both Sylvan Lake State Park in Eagle County and Rifle Gap State Park in Garfield County, according to a Monday, June 22 news release.
Both parks are located within some of the more extreme drought conditions in Colorado. According to the June 18 U.S. Drought Monitor, Eagle County and western Garfield County are experiencing exceptional drought conditions — the worst measured by the monitor.
Sylvan Lake State Park
At Sylvan Lake State Park outside of Eagle, the park’s main source and well, Zurcher Spring, has run completely dry and shows no signs of recovery due to the extreme drought conditions in the region.
To maintain basic operations at the park, Parks and Wildlife has transitioned to using a secondary water source, Cowboy Spring. This spring is producing 2,000 gallons of water per day, and with park usage ranging between 2,500 and 3,000 gallons daily, park staff shut off all 17 public water spigots in the state park.
Support Local Journalism
“We are using more water than we can currently produce, and are on track to run out,” said Sylvan Lake State Park Manager Matt Westerberg in the news release. “We know turning off the water spigots isn’t ideal, but our hope is this will save enough water to keep the main campground shower building operational for visitors.”
Despite having a workaround, Parks and Wildlife is asking visitors to help out by bringing their own water. Visitors can fill their tanks at the visitor center, which operates on a separate, functioning well system.
Rifle Gap State Park
A little further west in Garfield County, Rifle Gap State Park is experiencing impacts brought on by the winter’s historically low snowpack and early snowmelt. While the park typically experiences water declines in the late summer, they are hitting the state park months ahead of schedule, Parks and Wildlife reported.
To combat this, Parks and Wildlife is reducing motorized boat launching to a single lane and has pulled all courtesy docks from the water. Access for hand-launched vessels like kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards will remain unaffected by the closure.
“With our boat ramp down to a single lane, launching and loading will take significantly longer than usual,” said Rifle Gap State Park Manager Brian Palcer in the release. “We are asking all boaters to practice patience, pack an extra dose of courtesy for their fellow recreators at the ramp, and expect delays. We want everyone to have a safe, enjoyable day on the water despite these challenging conditions.”
Parks and Wildlife encourages boaters to exercise caution as low water levels have also exposed shallow, unmarked hazards across the reservoir, including uneven bottom topography, fish habitat structures, rocks and tree stumps. With these conditions, the agency also issued a reminder that life jackets are required on all vessels.
If the reservoir continues to recede at its current rate, Parks and Wildlife said the water levels will drop entirely below the concrete boat ramp, forcing a complete closure of the ramp to motorized watercraft for the remainder of the season in early July.
At both parks, the most current information can be found on their individual Facebook pages and websites on cpw.state.co.us/state-parks.
