Planning a Colorado Ski Vacation?
There are many wonderful places to cast a fly rod along open water near the resorts. Check out guide Tom Caprio’s favorite destinations and tips below!
Almost every Colorado ski resort has a winter fishery nearby. If you are planning a ski vacation, you can also take advantage of beautiful rivers and add a fly fishing fix into your Colorado adventure! Several locations offer the opportunity to fish and ski on the very same day – a very “Colorado” experience indeed! Here are a few of my favorites and some additional tips to assist in planning your fish-ski adventure!
Winter Park
Rip it up on thigh burning mogul runs at Mary Jane, or cruise Parsenn Bowl with seemingly endless blue and green terrain. As for the fishing, within 40 minutes you will find one of the prettiest trout streams anywhere- the Williams Fork. This pristine river is clean, quiet and boasts nice sized rainbows and browns. Note: a scenic 20-30 minute hike is required to get to the water (sometimes through snow). Good news – this walk tends to keep crowds away. For those looking for easier access, you can also fish a section of the Colorado below the Williams Fork confluence. This area offers nearby parking areas along Highway 40. For those who love a wilderness feel, the Williams Fork river just can’t be beat. As a tailwater, this river is generally open and ice-free throughout the winter season.
Keystone
This family-friendly resort offers miles of blues and greens plus some tougher terrain on North Peak and the Outback. A quick 15-minute drive will put you on the easy-to-access Blue River tailwater below Lake Dillon in the town of Silverthorne. This trout stream is surrounded by factory outlet stores, but once fishing, you really won’t notice or be bothered by the retail big boxes. Test your technical fly fishing skills in noteworthy runs like the Big Gulp (near the 7-Eleven convenience store) and Spectator Hole (you will have an audience cheering and spotting fish for you, since this spot is situation directly under a pedestrian bridge that links mall areas). You will also find fish in most of the ‘in-between’ pockets between the larger/longer obvious runs. Keep your eyes peeled. The water is typically gin clear so sight-fishing this area works well. Mysis shrimp and midge fed fish can grow large and quite colorful in this section of the Blue River! The ease of access and close proximity to town mean this is one of the most popular and often crowded winter trout streams.
Breckenridge
Every year the popular Breckenridge resort boasts the most skier days in the country. Enjoy several different peaks, bowls, and long blue and green terrain. The tourist-friendly Victorian town at the base of the ski area offers terrific lodging, dining, and entertainment options also. Beyond the Blue River that runs through town and over to nearby Silverthorne, a scenic drive over Hoosier Pass through Fairplay to Hartsel offers the opportunity to target large lake run rainbows and cutbows in the ‘Dream Stream’ section of the South Platte River. This section of meadow stream is located between two large reservoirs and is one of the most written about trout streams in the West. Passionate fly anglers won’t want to pass up the opportunity to fish this famous river in the late winter/early spring. The ‘run’ of resident lake fish into the river system typically starts in February or March depending upon stream flows and water temperatures. Anglers beware, the ‘south park’ valley can be one of the coldest in Colorado, so dress warm and be prepared for wind. Breckenridge visitors can also fish the nearby Blue River if they are short on time, or the Upper Colorado/Williams Fork system.
Vail and Beaver Creek
Vail’s world-famous back bowls are awesome on powder days, and the front side of Vail is ‘blue skier’ heaven with many miles of trails. Vail Village is a Tyrolean-style destination with lots of shopping and restaurants. Beaver Creek is the lesser known ‘little sister’ to Vail but a large ski resort in itself, often with less crowds. The ‘birds of prey’ mogul runs are some of the longest around will get the heart pumping, and Beaver Creek boasts very long cruisers as well. The Eagle River is a fantastic nearby freestone (undammed river), which normally means it would be frozen most of the winter. However, outflows from a couple water treatment plants add warmer water into the system often keeping water ice-free downstream of the nearby town of Gypsum. The river valley sits at lower elevation than the ski resorts, which helps keep temperatures more friendly for fish and anglers alike in the winter.
Aspen
Aspen boasts four great mountains on one ticket- Buttermilk has smooth cruisers. Aspen Highlands features crazy steeps and hike-to bowls. Snowmass offers terrific long cruisers and beautiful bowls. Aspen has it all, and just so happens to sit near three premier fly fishing rivers! The Frying Pan tailwater is within 45 minutes and has mysis shrimp fed large trout. The extremely popular “toilet bowl” just below the dam is very deep and teeming big fish. In mid-to-late ski season, when water temps warm up a bit you can also fish the Roaring Fork downstream towards Glenwood as well as the Colorado River downstream from Glenwood. Trout are very strong in those rivers and will test your equipment and skills.
Monarch
In comparison to the I-70 resorts, Monarch is a ‘smaller’ ski area but has a wide variety of terrain and receives tremendous annual snowfall. The Salida valley is the ‘banana belt’ of the mountain valleys and will have warmer air temps through the winter. The Arkansas River is a freestone so best to wait for a winter warm spell to get the ice off and fish moving. However, I have fished that area in January, and have had good success. Find the water lit up by the morning sun. Those areas will warm up faster and trigger more bug activity. I like the ‘big bend’ area upstream of Salida, and sections downstream from Salida before the canyon tightens up.
Crested Butte
Test your skills on Rambo – rated the steepest ski trail in the country! Crested Butte features wild double black bowls and lots of uncrowded blues and greens. Crested Butte’s terrain will give you a completely new perspective on what “steep” means. Downtown Crested Butte is an old Victorian mining town and reminiscent of a smaller version of Breckenridge. Within 45 minutes of town swim some of the largest rainbows in the state! Fish the Taylor River tailwater to target true hogs. If you ate shrimp all day you would be large too! This incredibly popular big fish tailwater sees less angler pressure in the winter, which makes the fish-ski adventure a great decision for dedicated anglers. Temps are chilly in the Taylor River canyon, so dress warm and realize there is no need to start fishing too early in the morning. Another sleeper option: The Gunnison River upstream from Blue Mesa reservoir when it unfreezes later in ski season. Sometimes you’ll have to climb down snowbanks to get into the prime spots, but there are many fish there!
Steamboat
“Champagne powder” and hundreds of acres of uncrowded tree skiing await you at Steamboat. Locally is the Yampa River tailwater below Stagecoach reservoir features great fishing for big fish, but it will take a long walk or a snowmobile ride to get there in the winter since the access road is closed. If you can make it there though the fishing can be very good for nice sized trout. Another option en route from the Front Range would be to stop and fish either the Blue or Colorado/Williams Fork.
Taos
Southern storms dump sizeable amounts of snow on New Mexico’s largest ski resort. Known for its steep terrain Taos will test your skills and knees. Kachina Bowl is an awesome lift served bowl for advanced/expert skier. An hour north of Taos near the town of Questa is a section of the Red River. This area is open to fishing all year long. Around the fish hatchery there are springs that feed warm water into the river, keeping the Red ice free. You’ll need to walk downstream a bit to access this pretty small stream with lots of plunge pools. There are hatches to be matched all winter long.
Telluride
A world class ski resort in southwest Colorado that is one of the prettiest places you will ever ski. Telluride has everything – steeps, bowls, long bump runs and cruisers, and excellent beginner terrain. An hour away is a beautiful tailwater on the Uncompahgre River below Ridgway Reservoir: Pa-Co-Chu-Puk (‘paco’ as the locals call it) in Ridgway State Park. I like going downstream from the main parking lot. This is beautiful and challenging water and home to some very nice sized fish! The elevation is a lot lower than the resort, so temperatures are typically much warmer than on the slopes. The ‘sleeper’ option is the San Miguel River which starts near Telluride. In March you can fish it downstream of the turn to go to Ridgway and further down near Norwood. I have a fondness for the San Miguel since I caught my first fish on a fly there many years ago on ski trip to Telluride. For a great option en route to Telluride, fish the Gunnison River (park at the Pleasure Park near Hotchkiss at the confluence of the North and main fork). Cross the north fork and go upstream. This area fishes like a tailwater since it is below 3 dams. You can walk upstream for upt to three miles, but there is also good water pretty close to the parking area.
Wherever you are planning your ski adventure, I hope you find time to enjoy terrific nearby fly fishing opportunities. For more information about winter weather fishing, check out my WINTER FISHING tips blog for cold weather tactics. As for fly selection check out these “Cliff Notes.”
Ed’s note: If you’d like to spend a winter day on the water with Tom or any one of our Orvis Endorsed fly fishing guides, please CONTACT us today!
