South Boulder Creek flow
Above Gross Reservoir (Pinecliffe) · last 7 days
The Morning Report ·
Today on the water
Flow
— cfs
Above Gross Reservoir
24h change
—
vs. this time yesterday
Forecast
—°F
—
Wind
—
NWS forecast
Light
—
Sunrise to sunset
Weather
Radar · Lincoln Hills · WindyFull-screen radar ↗
Loading forecast…
Hatching in
Today's dispatch
Loading the latest dispatch…
Lead water
South Boulder Creek
— cfs24h —
Gauge · Colorado DWR ↗
Gauges on South Boulder Creek
Loading gauges…
The year at a glance
A general guide: timing shifts with elevation, flows and weather from year to year. Compiled from The Catch and the Hatch ↗, DIY Fly Fishing ↗, Rocky Mountain Anglers ↗, Norrik Colorado hatch chart ↗ and Rise Beyond ↗.
Four trout share South Boulder Creek: one native and three that arrived with the railroads and hatcheries of the 1870s to 1890s. Tap a photo for each fish's story and how to tell it apart.
Sources: CPW brown trout ↗, CPW rainbow trout ↗, Aspen Times on brook trout ↗, Greenback cutthroat ↗ and CSU South Boulder Creek fish survey (2017) ↗.
Loading today's dispatch…
South Boulder Creek from the Moffat Tunnel's east portal down to Eldorado Canyon: where you can fish, what is changing on the creek, and the history of the place.
Where you can fish
Public
Private
Check locally
Railroad: no access
Access changes. Respect posted signs and private land; this guide is a starting point, not a property survey.
Project status · as of September 2026
Gross Dam expansion
Denver Water is raising Gross Dam about 130 feet, which will nearly triple how much water the reservoir holds. Work on the dam itself is expected to wrap up in summer 2027, with reservoir work and new recreation areas following through 2028.
Construction can close roads and trails and change flows and clarity in the tailwater below the dam. Check before you go.
Project news · Denver Water ↗- Dam raise
- 130 ft, to 471 ft
- Storage
- 42,000 → about 120,000 acre-feet
- Dam work done
- Summer 2027 (expected)
- Reservoir filling
- As soon as 2028
High lakes above East Portal
July – SeptemberTrails from the Moffat Tunnel's east portal climb into the James Peak Wilderness, to Heart Lake, Rogers Pass Lake, the Crater Lakes and the Forest Lakes. They fish best from July into September, once the ice is off and the snow has melted from the trail.
More info · Forest Service · South Boulder Creek Trail ↗Lincoln Hills
Lincoln Hills opened in 1922 as a mountain resort for Black Americans, at a time when most Colorado resorts were closed to them. It was the only resort of its kind west of the Mississippi. Families built cabins along South Boulder Creek and came up from Denver on the Denver & Salt Lake Railway in under an hour.
Winks Lodge, opened in 1928 by Obrey Wendell “Winks” Hamlet, hosted guests including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today Lincoln Hills Cares preserves that history and runs outdoor and fly-fishing programs for young people.