More than three years after Gov. Jared Polis announced that picturesque Sweetwater Lake at the edge of the Flat Tops Wilderness, 14 miles north of Glenwood Canyon, would become Colorado’s 43rd state park, it still hasn’t — and it may never become one.
Instead, because of significant pushback from the people who live nearby, it is more likely the stunning, 832-acre property, which used to be a small resort, will become another kind of recreation area, located on federal land, but managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Officials of the White River National Forest are currently planning to grant CPW a 20-year special use permit. Officials expect to release a draft environmental impact statement outlining their plans for public comment in June, with a final decision anticipated in spring of 2026.
The forest service owns the land but says it lacks the resources to manage it due to financial constraints, while Colorado Parks and Wildlife is currently in a better financial position.
Features of the plan include developing a new campground, converting an existing campground into day-use picnic sites, constructing up to 12 cabins, creating new access points to the lake, improving the boat dock and constructing a new day lodge.
CPW would manage the property for White River, but it seems increasingly unlikely that it will be designated a state park. It might seem like semantics from afar, but not for locals who were alarmed by how Polis described his plans in a news conference overlooking the lake when the partnership was announced in October 2021.
“This park,” Polis said, “is a result of the first of its kind partnership in the entire nation, between the state of Colorado and the U.S. Forest Service — the White River National Forest — to have a state park on U.S. Forest Service land.”
Locals were aghast, envisioning the small lake and its surroundings being overrun by RVs, motorboats and traffic with insufficient parking. Months of public meetings involving officials from White River, CPW, local counties and municipalities followed with locals pleading their case. Last April, a CPW official sought to allay their fears at a meeting in Gypsum.
“One of the things we repeatedly heard was, what it’s called means a lot,” said Jacob Brey, deputy regional manager for the Northwest Region of CPW.
“The designation of a state park or state recreation area, we learned that means something specific to a lot of different people. We’ve been working in the background to try to come up with some alternate naming, and I’m happy to say we’ve gotten buy-in up the chain (of leadership) that we can explore something that’s not called a state park or a state recreation area, or something that has a connotation that maybe depicts Sweetwater as something that we don’t want it to be.
“We have a commitment,” Brey added, “that we are going to try to work with you to do those things to honor what Sweetwater is and what it’s felt like, and not turn it into something that you don’t want to see.”
CPW spokeswoman Rachael Gonzales said this week that the agency had “nothing to add” to Brey’s remarks.
A spokeswoman for the governor’s office, Ally Sullivan, didn’t address the issue of state park designation for Sweetwater when asked for comment but said CPW would have the resources to prevent the problems locals fear.
“Protecting our world-class outdoors, and natural resources are a top priority for the governor and his administration,” Sullivan said in an email. “Sweetwater is an important watershed for the surrounding communities, and an incredible area with important conservation needs …”
The forest service bought the property, shortly before the Polis announcement, from the nonprofit Conservation Fund, which wanted to keep it out of the hands of developers.
Enchanting limestone cliffs frame the lake on two sides, and there are wetlands upstream from the lake, but historic buildings — including a lodge — are in disrepair. Officials say it is unlikely rock climbing, mountain biking or motorized recreation will be allowed. Boating will likely be limited to wakeless vessels, and there is no room for a swim beach or a trail around the lake.
The main reason the forest service bought the land was to provide public access to recreational opportunities, White River forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams told The Denver Post in 2023. “The people in the valley here, they’re just salt-of-the-earth, wonderful people who care about their lifestyle, their quality of life and their history. … But it is public, and we have an obligation to manage this in the public interest, not for one business or a small community.”
