Quartz Creek (Gunnison County, Colorado)
Quartz Creek is a stream in Gunnison County, Colorado. It rises in the Rocky Mountains above the town of Pitkin, Colorado. It merges with Tomichi Creek near the town of Parlin, Colorado, along Highway 50. The stream rises in the Gunnison National Forest and is formed by the merger of the North, Middle, and South Quartz creeks. It flows through the Quartz Creek Valley and through the towns of Pitkin and Ohio City. A non-profit association, the Quartz Creek Property Owners Association, advocates for managing and preserving the Quartz Creek Valley's natural resources . The State of Colorado operates the Pitkin Hatchery along Quartz Creek near Pitkin. The Hatchery is a cold water facility at 9,200 feet elevation. Focusing on fingerling- and catchable-size rainbow and cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon, the hatchery is a brood and production facility. Ironically, most of the land along Quartz Creek in the valley is privately held, so there is little public fishing there.