Kayaking and Lakes In Pagosa Springs

Kayaking in Pagosa Springs is available at the various lakes in Pagosa Springs including Lake Hatcher, Pagosa Lake, Village Lake and Lake Forest. Access to these private lakes require a permit from the POPLA which may be obtained by the guests of Pony Chalet during their visit.

Lake Hatcher
Starting at the north end of things is Hatcher Lake, a 133 surface acre reservoir with 1735 acre feet of storage volume. Average depths are in the neighborhood of 15feet and the deepest area of the lake near the dam is over 34 feet deep. Hatcher Lake is great fishery that includes rainbow trout, brown trout, large mouth bass and yellow perch primarily. There are a few green sunfish and western white suckers in the lake as well as sterile, triploid grass carp. The lake is the primary drinking water supply reservoir for the Pagosa Lakes area and a water treatment plant on the west side of the lake can treat up to 2 million gallons of water per day.

Lake Pagosa
Lake Pagosa is a 106 surface acre reservoir with 1276 acre feet of storage volume. The average depths in the lake are around 13 feet and near the dam it is24 feet deep. The fishery in Lake Pagosa is comprised of rainbow trout, cutbow trout, green sunfish, black crappie, large mouth bass, bluegill, yellow perch,western white sucker and triploid grass carp. Lake Pagosa is considered a raw water storage reservoir by the PAWSD as well as a recreational lake.

Village Lake
Village Lake is below Lake Pagosa and so it is a simple matter of cracking open the main outlet valve on the dam at Lake Pagosa.

Lake Forest
Lake Forest is the smallest lake, south and west of Village Lake is a 42 surface acre reservoir with 465 acre feet of storage capacity. This is the lowest lake physically in the chain. The fishery in Lake Forest is composed of rainbow trout, large mouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, yellow perch, western white sucker, black crappie and triploid grass carp. Lake Forest averages about 6 to 7 feet in depth and near the dam it is 16 feet deep. Lake Forest water levels tend to stay fairly static and it is classified as a raw water storage reservoir by the PAWSD as well as a recreational lake.  =

Please contact one of the following companies for more information about kayaking locations and rentals.