An old Barn on our morning walk to the fishing holes.A group of us headed up to the Williams fork near Parshall, Colorado this weekend in celebration of my brother’s birthday. We camped along the banks of the Williams fork Reservoir which is owned and operated by Denver Water. As “car” camping goes this area is great! There are plenty of camp sites that accommodate a wide range of visitors. They have areas for RV’s and trailers as well as sites especially for tents and small groups(us). This area is well maintained without feeling managed. Sometimes I think our park and land managers miss the point when it comes to maintaining the wild feel of an area.Example:I was at Mud Lake (Boulder County) a few weeks ago and it seemed like over half of the areas trees were downed and processed into a fence that surrounds the lake and new parking lot. The trail system which is easy to follow has huge markers, more fences and even cones in one section. Yeah, like traffic cones! I was like, What the?! Boulder County really missed the mark on this one (they probably think they did a great job). They took a beautiful area and made it in to a McDonald’s playground complete with trash cans, “no parking” , “no camping” and “no fishing” signs a “Wild Center for Nature Discovery”(which should read, Heres what you could have seen), and traffic CONES! Over management is as bad as no management, probably worse! Idiots. Anyway, the folks that maintain the Williams Fork Res. are more my style. “They were neither seen nor heard.” The wild feeling is maintained at this popular location, a difficult task with the large number of visitors. With Management only visible to the keen eye, properly spaced and allocated camping, and more respect for the people that visit, Denver Water gets two thumbs up. A nice little area to relax at!
Some beta from their site:
“Completed in 1959, Williams Fork Dam & Power Plant sends water and electricity to the Western Slope when Denver diverts water to cities elsewhere. Standing 217 feet above the Williams Fork River streambed, the dam backs up a reservoir of nearly 97,000 acre feet of water. The dam’s power plant contains a 3,158-kilovolt generator. Williams Fork Reservoir's surface area is 1,860 acres with a shoreline of 15.8 miles."
A long the river and passed the medow.
T-Bone nymphs in the head waters of the Colorado River near the Williams Fork confluence. June 09, 2007
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