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11 Mile, Spinning Mountain parks draw heavy visitation; managers warn of overcrowding, housing and water uncertainties
Summary
Dan Spries, park manager for 11 Mile and Spinning Mountain state parks, told the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission the popular South Park reservoirs draw large visitor numbers but face overcrowding, workforce housing shortages and uncertainty related to Aurora Water's proposed Wild Horse Reservoir.
Dan Spries, park manager for 11 Mile and Spinning Mountain state parks, told the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission that the two South Park reservoirs are drawing heavy visitation but face persistent management challenges.
Spries said the 11 Mile complex — leased for recreation by CPW from water providers — received roughly 230,000 visitors in fiscal 2024 and Spinning Mountain about 75,000. He described the parks' staffing model, year-to-year fluctuations in water levels at Spinney that can delay opening for boating, and growing crowding at popular fishing access such as the Dream Stream between the reservoirs.
"If you are there on a Saturday in July and you are not there by 08:00 in the morning, you're not getting a parking spot to fish this area," Spries said, calling fishing the parks' primary draw. He added that CPW conducts thousands of aquatic invasive species inspections — nearly 16,000 at 11 Mile and…
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