Navajo Reservoir, Pagosa Springs Colorado - Navajo Reservoir, Colorado's answer to Lake Powel, extends 20 miles south into New Mexico. This large, 15,000 surface-acres reservoir offers year round boating, camping, and fishing.
Navajo State Park sits in an area originally inhabited by Puebloans. They abandoned the area around 1050 A.D. Ute and Navajo tribes subsequently settled in the area around the fourteenth century. Members of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition, seeking a route from New Mexico to California, were among the first Europeans entering the area.
Constructed in 1962, Navajo dam stores irrigation water for the Navajo Indian Reservation. The area is sparsely populated and relatively pollution free. Navajo Reservoir is one of Colorado’s best for year round water recreation. At 15,000 surface water acres and 35 miles in length, recreational opportunities are seemingly endless. In addition to water recreations, the state park offers camping, cabins and yurts, biking, hiking and horseback trails, picnicking, hunting, wildlife viewing, and in the winter months, even cross-country skiing.
Needless to say, with all that water there are excellent fishing opportunities for largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, catfish, and pan fish. Kokanee salmon and trout are available in the cooler, deeper waters. And for those looking for something a bit larger, northern pike fill the bill. Fishers just need to remember that if they plan of fishing New Mexico waters, they will need a second license, available at the local marina.
Getting there: Take U.S. 160 west from Pagosa Springs for 17 miles, then turn southwest onto Colorado 151 for 18 miles to Arboles. Turn left again onto County Road 982 and drive 2 miles to the lake. Fees: Daily fee $6 Annual Parks Pass $60
Boating: All Boats Allowed. No restrictions Ice Fishing: None, never freezes over
