Elevenmile Canyon Reservoir and Spinney Mountain Reservoir Drive By

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By Bill Belei (100 McR Points) on Jun 21, 2020

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94 McR Points

June 21, 2020

Took this route in June of 2020. There was…

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Written Directions

Off of US Hwy 24 take CO enter the town of Lake George and look for the signs to Elevenmile Reservoir and turn on to route 90 heading west-southwest. Take co route 90 for about 1 or 2 miles and then take a left on to co route 92 which will be heading south mostly. This will take you directly to the Elevenmile Canyon Reservoir/Park and at this point if you are going to stay in the park (not pass through) you will be asked to pull off at a registration station and pay the state park entrance fee ($9 for cars, may be cheaper for bikes). However, if you plan on driving straight through, I don't believe you need to pay. Continue on co route 92 and it will drive west along the shores of Elevenmile Canyon Reservoir and then eventually Spinney Mountain Reservoir (note: at one point co route 92 turns into co route 59). Continue on route 59 as it takes you into the near-ghost town of Hartsel, CO.

Scenery

You’ll pass by beautiful Elevenmile Reservoir/State Park and Spiny Mountain Reservoir/State Park. Elevenmile is particularly gorgeous as its deep blue waters contrast beautifully against the green hills of the mountains surrounding it. The local area has many wonderful rock outcroppings along the way and scattered throughout the state parks. This area is pretty wide open and you can see for many miles in every direction. Truly refreshing scenery experience!!

Drive Enjoyment

I would have given the ride enjoyment 5-stars as it has great gentle twists and turns along with many elevation changes and the traffic is almost non-existent (granted I rode it on a Thursday). However, there were sections of CO route 92 that had a lot of patches on the pavement and it looked like it was really going to be a rough ride but actually it looked much worse than it was. This drive will be a five if/when they repave it! If/when that happens, if someone could make a note of that in the comments section, that will help us riders know when the route gets that much better.

Tourism Opportunities

The basics (gas, snacks, some limited restaurant opportunities) are available in Lake George and gas/snacks are available in Hartsel. The parks offer some of your typical essentials (camping/fishing supplies, snacks, etc) and there really is some great camping opportunities in the parks as they offer great views of the reservoirs. In addition to camping, you can fish, and I believe they rent boats, and have hiking too.