Altitude: 7,285 ft
Filed Under: Fishing, Paddling
Named for Denver Water former Chief Engineer Dwight D. Gross, the reservoir was completed in 1954. It serves as a combination storage and regulating facility for water that flows under the Continental Divide through the Moffat Tunnel. Standing 340 feet above the South Boulder Creek streambed, Gross Dam contains some 627,559 cubic yards of concrete. Gross Reservoir has a surface area of 440 acres and 10.9 miles of shoreline.
Since fall of 2004, Denver Water has been working to prepare Gross Reservoir for expanded recreation. The recreation area will be open, beginning Memorial Day, 2005, to non-motorized car-top boats.
Some roads on the south side have been closed periodically, to allow construction work to prepare parking and a boat ramp at Osprey Point. Parking for anglers and kayakers is also being prepared to give better access to South Boulder Creek below the dam. This parking area and an associated trail should be open in the spring of 2005; boating will begin on Memorial Day and continue through September 30.
Denver Water will continue to implement the recreation management plan in coming months until all new facilities and activities are available.
Boating regulations for Gross Reservoir will allow car-top boats (canoes, kayaks, row boats) but not trailer-hauled boats, sail boats (no windsurfing or ice boards), or any kind of motorized boat. Allowable boats must be single-hull construction, hand-propelled, and less than 18 feet long. Inflatable boats must be multi-chambered (no inner tubes, air mattresses, belly boats, or single-chambered rafts).
New parking regulations will be in effect at Osprey Point when the new facilities are operational. More law enforcement and safety information will be posted as the recreation season approaches.
Take Hwy 93 north from Golden to Hwy 72. Turn left (west) on Hwy 72 toward Pinecliffe to County Road 85. Follow County Road 85, which turns into western Gross Dam Road. It will take you to both the north and south access points. To reach the dam from Boulder, take Flagstaff Road west until it turns into eastern Gross Dam Road.
Alternate directions from Boulder - take Baseline west towards Flagstaff Mountain. Just after Chataugua Park you will see a large wooden sign for Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. Start your odometer here and drive up Flagstaff for approximately 8 miles. You will pass the Walker Ranch Trailhead on the way. Take a left on a gravel road at the sign marked Gross reservoir.
Comments
Sean Hudson said ...
I have not fished there, but I hear they have kokanee salmon in this lake.
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