Family Adventure at Rampart Reservoir

Today we decided to scope out some fishing areas. Our oldest son wants to go fishing for his birthday. We have been to Woodland Park countless times and have never ventured to Rampart Reservoir. So that is what we did today.

We packed up our camping stove, RTIC cooler and off we went on another family adventure.

Rampart Reservoir overview

We have never been to Rampart Reservoir, nor did we do any research on it and didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t think that you had to pay to drive around the thing. I guess we should have known this and/or took the time to reserach it. You have to pay for EVERYTHING, including, parking at crowded lakes, even when there aren’t enough designated spots… so why not for the road you drive on around a lake…. it only makes sense.

If we would have checked the Forest Service website we would have seen that it cost $8 bucks to get in. Also on the website it gives you a map of the lake. Which is better than the map you get at the dam. That map is an aerial shot of the dam. No joke, but it’s in color, so that makes it look nice.

Before you head to the reservoir, check the Forest Service website. Don’t be us and neglect it. Places and parks close for various different reasons often in this state. It’s always best to check the website where you are going, just in case….

A couple things to note:

Boating

There are restrictions. Electric motor boats are to be inspected before crossing the dam. They can only use the reservoir from Thursday-Sunday. The reservoir is a “No Wake Zone”. Hand launched water crafts can be launched from anywhere and can be used Monday – Sunday 7am-5pm.

Swimming

No swimming is permitted at Rampart Reservoir.

Fishing

The lake is stocked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 16 and older will need a fishing license. You cannot fish from the dam. You can fish from many other spots around the reservoir. We found a couple.

Picnics

There were several picnic spots available at the dam and throughout the rest of the area. We talk more about them below.

The Dam

After we paid the nice lady, we descended into the park. We just followed the road and noted the campgrounds and another road we wanted to check out on our way out.

We get to the end of the road… which is really just the a gate that is closed at the dam. There was a sweet gentleman that greeted us. He asked us if we’ve ever been here before. (I wonder what gave it away…) Gave us a “map” and a pep talk about not going on the rocks that support the dam. We thanked him and he manually moved the gate. We drove over the dam. It’s amazing how this road blocks SO much water from going into the forest on the other side.

Picnic Area at The Dam

We drive around the boat ramp then find a spot by the bridge to park. This area is a designated picnic area. It is supplied with several picnic tables and a great view.

We unload the camping stove. We leave the cooler and food container there on the tailgate for easy access. The kids go collect pines cones to play baseball. Lunch takes about 7 minutes to cook up and we sit down to eat.

At this time there are about 3 other groups eating lunch in this area. One couple hiked in and 2 others drove.

Once lunch was done and cleaned up we all went to use the restroom. It’s a vaulted toilet so we are preparing ourselves for the worst. (We have been in some REALLY bad ones. When you adventure as much as we do, you get excited when there isn’t a bee hive or an infestation of flies in the toilet.) This vaulted toilet was the CLEANEST we have EVER seen. In fact is was nicer than some public restrooms. Every single one of us opened the door and said WOW as we entered. It was THAT nice. We highly recommend it.

Once we were all finished admiring the cleanest vaulted tiolet, we left back over the dam. As we were “heading out”, we wanted to venture down the side roads.

Exploring the Rest of Rampart Reservoir

As you are leaving the dam, the first road on the right was Promontory. There are a few designated picnic areas on this road. We stopped at one to check out a good fishing spot.

The first place we stopped was at the end of the road. We played on the big boulders, then walked down the hill to the water. It was super windy and the little cub was cold so I carried him down. (And back up) The bank of the water was covered with little gold flakes. We weren’t sure if it was gold flakes or some kind of sand. We pretended it was gold. 😉

At the next spot we pulled off at was the spot we choose we would come back to and fish. It wasn’t as windy and there was much more beach area to spread out. There was a really great picnic area that had boulders to climb on as well. There was a large family gathering in the picnic area. They were all properly dressed for the windy weather. We were rookies and ran back to the Jeep because we were cold.

The last spot that we explored was a little parking area pull-off that we past the first time through. So it was difficult to try and park properly.

This little area was super cute. There was another trail leading down to the water. But when we pulled up I thought I saw stairs… in the forest… I know weird. But as I explored more there they were….a set of stairs. This was the best part of the trail. we made it down the stairs, down the trail and to the water. There was another family around the inlet cove that had 3 pretty puppies that my kids thoroughly enjoyed watching them.

As we made it back up the trail there were some trail runners coming. We didn’t know which part of the trail they’d take so we pulled over and let them pass. There was a race going on. We saw lots of campers and a starting line with fans all lined up along Rampart Range Road as we drove up to the reservoir.

Campgrounds

Once back on the main road we turned down the first campground to explore. It was $23 a night, but no hook-ups. We thought that was a bit expensive seeing that you don’t even have water. But the $23 also includes your day use of the reservoir. So really it’s $15 a night. Which isn’t bad.

Conclusion

To wrap up this family adventure at Rampart Reservoir, you should spend the day there. You could spend some time on your kayak, go fishing, have a picnic, go on a hike and just soak up the awesome views. Or you could spend the weekend and camp. Either way, it’ll be a great time.

What is your favorite thing to do at Rampart Reservoir?