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Curecanti National Recreation Area - Scenic Driving and Water Sports


Been There?

Check out GORP's Destinations Forum, where you can post questions and comments in the Curecanti thread.


Scenic Driving

Highway 92 skirts the Black Canyon's north rim for spectacular views. The Pioneer Point overlook offers two views into this deep canyon and a chance to learn of its history.

The East Portal Road makes its way to the river from Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The road is extremely steep (15 percent grades) with hairpin curves. Vehicles with an overall length (including trailer) greater than 22 feet are prohibited on the East Portal Road. Trailers may be unhitched and left at a parking area at the campground entrance. Another access, located at Cimarron (18 miles east via Highway 50), provides an alternate drive to the Gunnison River.

Alternative Activities:

Plan drives on Colorado Scenic Byways or relax in one of the state's famous Hot Springs.

Water Sports

Each of the three lakes within Curecanti National Recreation Area has a character all its own, and each provides a different type of boating experience.

Blue Mesa Lake: Twenty mile long Blue Mesa Lake, with its 96 miles of shoreline, affords many opportunities for boating. One can lie back, enjoy the sun, and sail on one of the lake's three open basins. Windsurfing is popular in several areas such as the Bay of Chickens. Boaters can explore several arms of the lake which reach into secluded canyons. Water skiers can practice their sport in the late months of summer, July and August, when waters warm slightly.

Crystal and Morrow Point Lakes: Due to their locations in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, boating on Crystal and Morrow Point Lakes is limited to hand carried craft. The access trail for Morrow Point Lake is the Pine Creek Trail, located along Highway 50. Crystal Lake is reached via the Mesa Creek Trail located near Cimarron.

Morrow Point Lake boat tours are offered on a regular schedule In summer. An interpreter on board relates the lake's story and you will get a lake-level view of Curecanti Needle and an appreciation of the lake's sheer canyon walls. For boat tour schedules and reservation information, call the Elk Creek Marina at (303) 641-0402.




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[from Outside magazine]