A Day at 11 Mile Canyon and Reservoir | Colorado
I can’t believe I’ve lived in Colorado for 21 years and never been to 11 Mile. I’ve been sorely missing out! Just 1.5 hours outside Colorado Springs is a place that offers an endless amount of adventure and more than enough activities for a weekend trip outdoors.
The first thing I want to mention is that it’s essential to know that 11 Mile Reservoir and 11 Mile Canyon are two different things. They have separate fees, and you drive different ways to get to each. This was confusing to us, as they’re obviously attached, you’d think going to one of them you would see the other, but this is not true, so don’t get lost like we did!
11 Mile Reservoir (aka 11 Mile State Park) is owned by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. From Highway 24, you take County Road 90 to County Road 92 to get there. You can park at Coyote Ridge Parking Lot, which costs $7 per vehicle for a day pass. It’s a large body of water great for boating, fishing, hiking, and some fantastic camping (by reservation)! There are three different looped trails. We did the small Black Bear Trail, which keeps you by the water and mainly in the shade, and it was beautiful!
11 Mile Canyon Recreation Area is owned by the USDA Forest Service. From Highway 24, take County Road 96 right by Lake George. You’ll see a wooden map of the canyon where the road forks. Keep to the right and drive up to a fee station, where you pay $7 per vehicle to enter the canyon. Do not go left at the fork. We made this mistake (along with several others who stopped to ask us where the canyon was). The canyon’s gem is the South Platte River. It’s great for fly fishing, hiking, swimming (which you can’t do at the reservoir), tubing, and camping. We spent the afternoon tubing down the river at 11 Mile Picnic Area. Seriously, it’s SO fun! The water was great.
I wouldn’t say one is better than the other. They offer different things! It’s easy to do them both in one day, or you could camp over the weekend and spend one day at each place. We will be back!