John Martin Reservoir State Park

This reservoir is pretty out of the way if coming from the denver metro area as it's about a 3 hour drive. We wanted to try it for the long holiday weekend since we have more time. Overall the reservoir is huge but it's not really been built up enough to handle recreation activities for people. Even fishing seems hard and many people also brought boats. We camped near Lake Hasty which is next to the reservoir but is very tiny with better access. Even with better access it's hard to get in to the water. We thought the campground would have access to the lake but instead you have to drive to the other side of where the campground is and get in, otherwise there's not any other way in due to the reeds surrounding the lake. Once in, it's beautiful and calming especially if going in the morning before the rush. There were a million blue dragon flies when we were there and maybe fish but I never saw any cresting the surface. I did see a few turtles and a couple of ducks. As for the campground, don't stay in 1-29, as there is virtually no shade on that side. The other side was covered in large shady trees.

Great park to camp and get out on the water! We had great sun and weather after the storm passed a few weeks ago. Got our paddleboards out and got to fish from the bank. Very nice at the visitors center too. Helpful advice to put in at the ramp that is closed to boaters. Went on a hike on the trail on the last day that was neat lots of historical spots along it on the other side of the dam plus santa fe trail ran through there. Will be back next season!!

This was my first stop in Colorado during my cross country van trip. I was super excited to be in Colorado again, I had never really been this east in the state before. The reservoir is absolutely beautiful. The spot we had was also super nice and they’re very simple and spacious. Only complaint was we seemed to be near some sort of waste bin that reeked of fish, but other than that it was a cool place!