Canoe Colorado
Performance Canoes and Sea Kayaks

Arapahoe National Recreation Area

Monarch Lake
 

The Arapahoe National Recreation Area is located in north central Colorado, near the headwaters of the Colorado River. The recreation area consists of five major reservoirs: Granby Reservoir, Shadow Mountain Reservoir, Willow Creek Reservoir, Meadow Creek Reservoir and Monarch Lake. Grand Lake is not part of the ANRA, although Shadow Mountain Reservoir is directly connected to the lake through the canal.

The Drive time to the ANRA is about 2 hours from Denver.

Granby Reservoir

Types of Craft:
Sea Kayaks, Canoes, Powerboats

How to get there:
Granby Reservoir is located 6 miles northeast of the town of Granby, CO. There are several launch points around the lake.

Camping:
Primitive camping can be found along the eastern shore and on the islands. Developed campsites can be found at Stillwater (northwest corner), Sunset Point (southwest corner) and Arapahoe Bay (southeast corner) which have full services from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

GPS Coordinates:
Stillwater  Elevation 8293  N 40 10.848'  W 105 53.109'
Arapahoe Bay  Elevation 8291  N 40 07.752'  W 105 46.267'

Maps:
USGS 7.5 Quads
Trail Mountain
Shadow Mountain

The following map was created using National Geographic TOPO! Colorado software which offers complete 7.5 min maps for all of Colorado. All maps on this page are 100K series maps.

Shadow Mountain Reservoir

Types of Craft:
Sea Kayaks, Canoes, Powerboats

How to get there:
Shadow Mountain Reservoir is located 12 miles northeast of the town of Granby, CO. There are several launch points around the lake.

Camping:
Developed Campsites can be found at Green Ridge on the south shore of Shadow Mountain

GPS Coordinates:
Shadow Mountain not available at this time

Maps:
USGS 7.5 Quads
Shadow Mountain

Willow Creek Reservoir

Types of Craft:
Sea Kayaks, Canoes, Powerboats must obey a no-wake rule

How to get there:
To reach Willow Creek Reservoir, take hwy 34 6 miles north of Granby. Turn west on County Road 40, and follow it for 3 miles.

Camping:
Developed Campsites can be found at Willow Creek Campground.

GPS Coordinates:
Willow Creek  Elevation 8177  
N 40 08.671'  W 105 57.378'

Maps:
USGS 7.5 Quads
Trail Mountain

Monarch Lake

Types of Craft:
Sea Kayaks, Canoes. No motorized boats.

How to get there:
Monarch Lake is located 18 miles northeast of Granby. Go north on hwy 34 for 6 miles, and then go east on county road 6 for 12 miles. The lake is located about 1/4 mile from the parking lot.

Camping:
Developed Campsites can be found at Arapahoe Bay on Granby Reservoir

GPS Coordinates:
Monarch Lake  Elevation 8392   N 40 04.642'   W 105 44.774'

Maps:
USGS 7.5 Quads
Monarch Lake

Written by Eric Nyre