Waterton Canyon reopens June 15 to recreationalists
Waterton Canyon, a popular destination for runners, anglers and wildlife watchers that was closed March 18 due to the coronavirus, will reopen on June 15 — but only on weekdays.
The canyon was closed to prevent crowds and limit exposure to employees of Denver Water, which manages the area. The canyon road extends 6½ miles from the edge of Chatfield State Park to the Strontia Springs Reservoir, providing access to the Colorado Trail.
“While it hasn’t been easy, we’ve been able to open other facilities within the social distancing guidelines as they are around reservoirs where people can spread out, or in the case of the High
Line Canal, a long trail with many access points,” Denver Water recreation manager Brandon Ransom said in a news release. “Waterton Canyon presents more challenges as there are limited access points and less ability to spread out, since it is a service road for our operation and maintenance crews.”
The canyon will open for recreationalists 30 minutes before sunrise and close 30 minutes after sunset. Denver Water will monitor weekday use over the next month before deciding whether to open on weekends as well. The dirt road is closed to motorized traffic except for official vehicles, such as those operated by Denver Water and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
“Waterton Canyon is a popular recreation destination,” said Strontia Springs Dam supervisor Heath Stuerke. “We recognize the closure was an inconvenience, and ask the public to help us keep our resources and employees safe. The recent closure allowed us to utilize this time to improve the recreation experience by performing our annual dust mitigation project, where we close the canyon for a few weeks out of the year.”