Colorado's High-Mountain Haven Is A Serene Reservoir With Outdoor Four-Season Fun

A stunning mountain lake retreat in the northern Colorado Rocky Mountains is an all-year getaway that can attract nearly any outdoor enthusiast, from anglers and hikers to paddlers and sailboat pilots. Pearl Lake State Park is situated about 40 minutes by car north of the resort community of Steamboat Springs, the Colorado ski town with the most winter Olympic athletes. It's a spectacular out-of-the-way destination sporting 36 campsites and a pair of yurts that are available for rent year-round. The heart of Pearl Lake State Park is Pearl Lake itself. The 167-acre reservoir on tiny Lester Creek is ideal for small-craft paddling and boating, and it's home to native cutthroat trout and stocked with Arctic grayling. Fishing is generally best in late May and in the fall, but it's a great spot for ice fishing in the winter, too.

Pearl Lake is designated as a wakeless lake, so no motors are allowed. That's why it's popular with the captains of small sailboats, though canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards are also excellent boating options on the small mountain impoundment. In the winter, visitors will need to either snowshoe or cross-country ski about a half-mile to reach the lake. Only the yurts are available for wintertime use; camping in the winter is prohibited. But, Pearl Lake State Park offers a fantastic remote experience during the winter, with the surrounding mountains blanketed in snow. Both year-round yurts have electric heat and power that helps keep visitors comfortable. Guests will need their own bedding, and if they plan to do any cooking, it must be done outside, either over a propane stove or the designated fire pit. Campers should make their reservations well in advance via the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.

For anglers, Pearl Lake State Park is an excellent place to pitch a tent and spend some time fishing. Lester Creek, the small, mountain stream that flows into and out of Pearl Lake, is home to cutthroat trout and flows across public lands — fishing it with light fly tackle is totally doable. Pearl Lake State Park is also only a couple of hours from the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests  & Thunder Basin National Grassland, a nearly 3-million-acre swath of public land that offers dozens of other small-stream angling options in the general area.

For anglers on foot, try the ½-mile hike down the Pearl Lake Connection Trail to the dam at the lower end of the lake. The trail isn't paved, but it's accessible for wheelchairs. It leads to Lester Creek below the dam, where anglers can make a few casts for cutthroat trout. Anglers could also hike the Pearl Lake Trail, which meanders around the lake and offers access to the lake's shallow coves and other potential fishing areas. It's also a fairly easy, roughly 3 ½-mile round-trip walk, which is nice if you're carrying fishing gear. Nearby, in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, there are hundreds of miles of trails, many of which lead to fishable streams and lakes that are remote and seldom fished. Pearl Lake State Park itself provides access to 21 miles of public hiking trails. And at the end of the day, hiking anglers can soothe tired muscles just a short drive from Pearl Lake State Park by visiting one of America's best hot springs that's nestled into the Colorado mountains near Steamboat Springs.

Visitors headed to Pearl Lake State Park shouldn't miss the chance to stop in beautiful Steamboat Springs, an authentic Colorado mountain town. Not only does Steamboat have some highly-rated restaurants and bars, but it's also the closest sizable town where campers can stock up on groceries, fishing gear, and anything else they might need before heading into the mountains. It's also worth taking a quick detour to visit Fish Creek Falls, Colorado's second-highest waterfall that hides just off the trail and offers wildly impressive mountain views.

Once fully stocked and fed, head north on Elk River Road and follow the signs to Pearl Lake State Park. Drivers should use caution and watch for deer and elk along the drive to the park. Once there, keep an eye out for more of Colorado's colorful wildlife. In addition to deer and elk, the park is home to black bears, foxes, and beavers, and birders are likely to see great blue herons, pelicans, ospreys, screech owls, and dusky grouse. Pearl Lake State Park is a solid recreation option for campers, hikers, and anglers who don't mind roughing it a bit. It helps, too, that Steamboat Springs is close by, just in case there's a sudden need for civilization.