Dillon Reservoir, Colorado - paddling destinations by Wayfarer

October, 1994

Location: nestled high in the Rocky Mountains near the towns of Silverthorne, Frisco and Dillon

Directions: from Denver, travel 70 miles west on I-70, the Silverthorne or Frisco exit. The reservoir is on the south side of the highway.

Elevation: 9,017 feet (when full)

Size: 3,200 acres

Controling agency: White River National Forest

Entrance fee: none, camping & picknic area fee

Boating: No personal watercraft and no body-contact activities

Water level

Completed in September 1963, Dillon Reservoir is the largest water storage facility in the Denver Water system.

Building the dam required relocating the entire town of Dillon, Colorado, and a hydroelectric plant. The project diverts water from the Blue River Basin through the Harold D. Roberts Tunnel under the Continental Divide into the South Platte River Basin. Dillon Dam is an earth-fill dam, 5,888 feet long by 231 feet above the Blue River stream bed. Dillon Reservoir's surface area of 3,233 acres and 26.8 miles of shoreline support many recreational activities.

Paddling and Photographing - Wayfarer Trip Index (July 2006 Edition)
Map of Colorado Paddling Destinations