You won't believe you're minutes from downtown Evergreen
Located in Clear Creek county Colorado, just outside of Evergreen, Colorado, Mount Evans State Wildlife Area is approximately 3,398 acres (5.31 sq. miles or 13.75 sq. kilometers) and ranges from 7,947 ft to 9,905 ft in elevation.
Since it is located so close to the Denver metro area, the area is closed to public access from January 1 through June 14, in order to protect the resource. Note that use of the property is restricted to fishing and hunting activities only from the day after Labor Day through the end of the 4th regular rifle season (mid November).
A valid hunting or fishing license OR SWA pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing this state wildlife area. For more information, read Colorado Parks and Wildlife's State Wildlife Areas frequently asked questions.
Erik went in on opening day to see just how the area looked this year and how the fish fared.
How to experience the Mt. Evans State Wildlife Area yourself
From Denver Colorado, take Interstate 70 west to Evergreen Parkway exit (Exit 252), go 7 miles south on Highway 74 to Upper Bear Creek Road (Evergreen Lake), then go 6 miles west (right) to the fork in the road. Take the right fork and follow the signs 3 miles to the entrance.
View a printable map of the Mt. Evans State Wildlife Area.
Prefer to read instead of watching the video? Here's a video transcript
Hey everybody, Erk here from basin + bend. It is June, 15 2018 and that means today is opening day at the Mt. Evans State Wildlife Area. It's gonna be a low water year, so I'm interested to see what's going on up here on upper bear Creek. I'm going to go in, and check it out, and see what we can find today.
Always a good sign in the morning. Let's add the first name to the list! There we go.
Well, just about getting to Bear Creek here and I can actually hear water rushing which is a good sign, since we got such a low water year and big drought right now. I'm a little curious to see what we're gonna find down here, but so far it's sounding good. Let's check it out!
Well, that was a fun morning, I've definitely had my fill of six to 10 inch brookies! Even though the water is real low this year there's still plenty of deep pools up here on upper bear Creek to sneak up on them, you can throw a dry dropper rig or just even a single dry, lots of opportunities for bow and arrow casts in kind of tight spaces so some good challenges from the casting perspective. The clouds are just rolling in here, it's about noon, so storms are coming in, its time to get off the mountain here so I'm gonna head back to the truck, but you know if you're looking for a quick getaway that's literally minutes outside of downtown Evergreen, upper bear Creek is a great place to find some solitude, put on dry fly and and have some fun with some small fish so, come by the shop and we'll set you up with some flies, go and check it out. Cheers!
