page_title: Curecanti National Recreation Area
section_title: Recreation
hierarchical_section_title: Curecanti National Recreation Area / Visitor and recreation facilities / Recreation
caption_attribution_description: English: A nature trail bridge below the Morrow Point Dam in the Black Canyon of The Gunnison National Park, Colorado The river to the right is the Gunnison River. The confluence of the Cimmarron River and the Gunnison is at left. Two fishermen are at top center of the photograph. This is an HDR image created from 4 original digital image captures.
context_page_description: Curecanti National Recreation Area is a National Park Service unit located on the Gunnison River in western Colorado. Established in 1965, Curecanti is responsible for developing and managing recreational facilities on three reservoirs, Blue Mesa Reservoir, Morrow Point Reservoir and Crystal Reservoir, constructed on the upper Gunnison River in the 1960s by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to better utilize the vital waters of the Colorado River and its major tributaries. A popular destination for boating and fishing, Curecanti offers visitors two marinas, traditional and group campgrounds, hiking trails, boat launches, and boat-in campsites. The state's premiere lake trout and Kokanee salmon fisheries, Curecanti is a popular destination for boating and fishing, and is also a popular area for ice-fishing in the winter months.
context_section_description: Curecanti offers a number of recreational opportunities, including boating, fishing, boat-in, developed, and primitive camping, hiking, horseback riding, and hunting.  Facilities on the river east of Blue Mesa include developed picnic areas at Riverway, Neversink, Cooper Ranch, and Beaver Creek, a kayak/canoe launch at Riverway and a nature trail at Neversink.  All of these facilities can be reached on U.S. 50, 5 miles west of Gunnison.  The area around Blue Mesa Reservoir contains 8 developed campgrounds, two of which are designated for groups.  These range from the 160-site Elk Creek on the main body of the lake to smaller, more remote sites, like Ponderosa and Gateview, located on arms of the lake. Several of the campsites can accommodate RV's, but only Elk Creek offers electrical hook-ups.
  Boaters may camp overnight in 4 free camping areas with a total of 9 individual sites.  Boaters may also camp on the southern shore of the Cebolla and Iola Basins, as long as campsites are not within a half-mile of any developed area, bridge, maintained public road or other boat-in/backcountry campsite.
  Recreational opportunities at Morrow Point Reservoir include boating (hand-carried craft only), primitive camping, and hiking.  There are three small developed areas with lake access, the Pine Creek Trailhead, accessible via U.S. 50 approximately 1 mile west of Blue Mesa Dam, the Pioneer Point Overlook, north of the reservoir on Colorado Highway 92, approximately 5.5 miles west of Blue Mesa Dam, and the Hermit's Rest Trailhead, on Co. 92 approximately 17 miles west of Blue Mesa Dam.  Pine Creek offers lake access for hand-carried craft and access to boat-in campsites.  Pioneer Point Overlook offers a scenic viewing area and is the trailhead for the strenuous Curecanti Creek trail, a 4-mile (round trip) trail with a 900 ft. elevation change.  Two campsites with picnic tables, fire grates, and composting toilets are located at the end of the trail. Hermit's Rest Trailhead gives access to the steep Hermit's Rest Trail, a  6-mile round trip with an 1800 ft. elevation change that ends with two campsites equipped with picnic tables, fire grates, and composting toilets.
  
  Recreational opportunities around Crystal Reservoir include boating (hand-carried craft only), camping, and hiking.  There are two small developed areas near the reservoir, Mesa Creek Trailhead and Crystal Creek Trailhead.  Mesa Creek Trailhead is located immediately west of Point Morrow Dam, and can be accessed from a one-mile road running north of U.S. 50 at Cimarron. 
   Hand-launched watercraft can be launched into Crystal from Mesa Creek.  A single boat-in campsite is located approximately 4 miles west of Mesa Creek at the mouth of Crystal Creek.  Mesa Creek is also the trailhead for the Mesa Creek Trail, a fairly to moderately strenuous 1.5 mile round trip that crosses the reservoir on a footbridge and travels west along the north shore. Though Mesa Creek is a day-use facility, developed campsites are available at nearby Cimarron.  Crystal Creek Trailhead is located on Colorado Highway 92, 24 miles west of Blue Mesa Dam and offers access to the 5-mile (round trip) Crystal Creek Trail.  Moderately strenuous, Crystal Creek trail does reach the water but ends at an overlook 1800 ft. above the reservoir.
  Other recreational facilities at Curecanti include horse corrals, for equestrian campers, at Dry Gulch, Ponderosa, and Soap Creek, and the Dillon Pinnacles Trail, a moderately strenuous 4 mile round trip to the Dillon Pinnacles, a ridge of strikingly eroded volcanic rock that has become one of the most identifiable images of the park.
caption: Bridge over Crystal Reservoir at Cimarron.
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