Hey there. I just spent three nights out on the water at Horsetooth, and honestly, it felt like pressing pause on the world. We boated in, set up camp, and forgot all about the car keys and the noise of daily life until it was time to head home. There’s a hush you find out there — one that feels almost necessary these days. Thoreau searched for solitude at Walden Pond without ever really leaving Concord, and I think about that a lot. It reminds me that you don’t have to drive for hours or disappear into the mountains to find a piece of the world that’s your own. Sometimes, peace is just a short paddle away.

So this issue is for anyone who’s ever needed a little reset — a chance to step out of the rush and let the water do its work. We’re diving into the story of the lakes just west of us: where the water comes from, how much is out there right now, and five places you can camp by the shore without leaving the county. I even tucked in my favorite one-pot camp chili recipe at the end, made for a stove, because fire restrictions mean we’re all cooking low and slow until at least September.

One housekeeping note. Some of you have been getting this letter with the bottom chopped off, which is Gmail's doing, and it means the Happenings list has been disappearing right when you need it! So we're splitting up the issues. Stories on Tuesday, Happenings on Thursday, starting this week. Same amount of NOCO Word, just delivered twice a week.

Grab a coffee, and let's dig in!

– Megan

Horsetooth isn't a river with a dam across it. There isn’t even a substantial creek up there to block. What we have west of Fort Collins is a 6.5-mile-long basin tucked between two hogback ridges. It only holds water because the Bureau of Reclamation had the amazing idea to plug every gap nature carved out of the rock and then fill it with water. Horsetooth Dam closes off the north end at 155 feet high. Soldier Canyon Dam is 226 feet, Dixon Canyon Dam stands at 240, Spring Canyon Dam at 220, and Satanka Dike seals the last opening. All together, they hold back more than 10 million cubic yards of earthfill. That’s a lot of dirt!

The water itself comes from the other side of the Continental Divide. It starts in the upper Colorado River, passes through Grand Lake, and travels 13.1 miles east via the Alva B. Adams Tunnel, running right under Rocky Mountain National Park about 3,800 feet beneath the highest peaks. Crews started digging from both ends of the proposed tunnel in 1940. When they met in the middle in June 1944, their alignment was off by less than the width of a pencil! The first water flowed through on June 23, 1947. The dams wrapped up in 1949, and the reservoir finally filled in January 1951, covering what was once the sandstone town of Stout, which we talked about back in Issue 008.

Starting in 2000, Reclamation rebuilt all four dams, stripping the downstream faces, installing filters and buttresses, and sealing the foundations against seepage found in the aging clay cores. To do that, they had to empty the reservoir. On October 6, 2001, Horsetooth dropped to just 2,536 acre-feet of water, compared to a full pool of 156,735. That was the lowest level since records began in 1951. The repairs wrapped up in September 2003, but crews waited until November to refill so powerplants downstream could finish their own fixes.

It looks like just another foothills lake on a map, but Horsetooth is really a bucket with four earthen plugs in its side. The outlet at Soldier Canyon Dam sends water straight to Fort Collins, CSU, and three rural water districts. So, if you had a glass of tap water in town this morning, it traveled right under the national park to get to you. Pretty impressive engineering.

There are five reservoirs, all close enough that you can be lakeside from almost anywhere in Northern Colorado in under an hour. Before you pick your spot, just a couple of things are worth keeping in mind:

First, you’ll need both an entrance permit and a camping reservation at the four Larimer County reservoirs — booking a campsite alone won’t get you through the gate. Grab a $10 daily pass or spring for the $100 annual pass (double that if you have a trailer).

Second, four of these five are managed by Larimer County, but one is run by the state. Horsetooth, Carter, Flatiron, and Pinewood are all at larimercamping.com or 1-800-397-7795, and you can reserve as far as 180 days ahead (but don’t wait too long or you might miss out). Boyd Lake is a state park, so you'll need to go through cpwshop.com or 1-800-244-5613, get a Colorado state parks pass, and follow a whole different set of rules.

Horsetooth Reservoir: There are three different ways to sleep here, each with its own vibe. South Bay and Inlet Bay both have full hookups and a bathroom nearby — great if you’re rolling in with a trailer, or have kids who’ll need a bathroom break at 2 a.m. Both are in the construction zone this summer, so parking is tight and the road is sometimes down to one lane; get there early if you can. The boat-in sites are another world entirely — no road, no water, no toilets at most of them, and you’ll need a real boat to get there. Sites 3 through 15 are still closed, so what’s left disappears fast.

Carter Lake: The biggest of the bunch at 1,100 acres, Carter has five campgrounds and about 151 sites. There are three boat ramps and a marina (call (970) 667-1062). Sky View has group electric pods if you’re bringing friends or family. Just a heads-up — by late summer, the water drops fast, so the shoreline in August is nothing like the one you’ll find in May. It’s still beautiful — just a little raw and wild.

Flatiron Reservoir: The smallest and quirkiest at just 47 acres. Flatiron is an afterbay for the power plants upstream, so the water level rises and falls all day long. Camp here and you’ll actually see the water move—sometimes more than you’d expect. It’s a cozy, family-friendly spot, and you can even reserve a tipi, which feels like a little bit of magic for the kids (or for you).

Pinewood Reservoir: This is the highest at 6,580 feet, and you’ve got to really want it to make it up here. The four-mile road in is steep and narrow — definitely not for big RVs or motorhomes. There are no motors or trailered boats allowed — which means it’s the calmest, quietest hundred acres of water around. Bring a kayak or canoe, breathe deep, and soak up the stillness. Drinking water is only there through August; after that, you’ll need to fill up at Flatiron, four miles back down the hill.

Boyd Lake: Definitely check the details before heading out to Boyd. The water’s down by 20 to 25 feet this year, the marina is closed for 2026, and motorized boat ramps are done for the season. But you can still paddle, swim, and watch the birds — this place is a sanctuary for them, and right now it feels like one for people too. The 140 paved pull-through sites are open and ready for you, just leave the motorboat at home.

Larimer County will open up the 1,847 acres of open space around it for wakeless boating, fishing, and ten to twelve miles of new trails that will one day connect with Carter Lake. There won’t be camping or a marina, so the nights will belong to the dark and the quiet. The public opening is still a couple of years away, as the management plan takes shape. When it’s ready, we’ll be there to give it a proper welcome.

Larimer County’s fire restrictions run through September 8. That means no wood, no charcoal, no briquettes — no crackling campfires anywhere in unincorporated county. But propane and gas camp stoves are still allowed, which is why this recipe is here! You can still have something warm and comforting under the stars.

You make the chili at home, in your kitchen, with your favorite mug on the counter and the comforts of a sink and a cutting board nearby. Then it heads into the cooler, ready for adventure. At camp, you set the pot on the burner and in ten minutes you’re holding a bowl of something that feels like a small celebration. One pot feeds four, with leftovers that taste even better the next morning — maybe even eaten cold, wrapped up in a sleeping bag, watching the sun climb over the trees.

Cool it all the way down before it goes near the cooler. Spread it in a shallow pan, or set the pot in a sink of cold water and stir it every few minutes.

Then pick one:

Place pot on the stove over medium-low. If it went in frozen, put a splash of water in the bottom first so nothing scorches while the block breaks apart. Stir when you think of it. Ten to fifteen minutes from cold, closer to twenty-five from frozen.

Top it with whatever makes you smile. For me, Fritos are non-negotiable at camp — there’s just something about that salty crunch under the open sky.

Note: Up at Pinewood, at 6,580 feet, things warm up a little slower — especially after a night when the stars felt endless and the air turned crisp. Give your chili an extra five minutes and keep the lid on tight.

August is when the season catches up with you. The tomatoes come in all at once, fall sports practice starts back up, and anybody with a trail goal still on the list is trying to knock it out before the aspens turn. That's usually the week the shoulder you've been ignoring since June finally speaks up. Choice City Physical Therapy is where you go to stop guessing. Sam Fischer and his team run a down-to-earth Fort Collins clinic that skips the corporate, assembly-line vibe. Honest, hands-on, evidence-based care, built to keep the NOCO Crew in motion.

Every contribution keeps us out in the field, digging into local history, and showing up for the towns we cover. We're grateful for every bit of support. Thanks for being part of this.

— Megan & David

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