Eleven Mile State Park RV & Campground Guide

If you love to fish, you’ll find everything from kokanee salmon, northern pike, and carp to rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and cutbow trout in the reservoir. You can bow fish in shallow waters year-round or try your luck on the South Platte River by the inlet. The park also hosts Eagle Claw Shappell Colorado Classic Pro-Am ice fishing tournaments during the winter season. You can get a fishing license and a complete list of regulations and possession limits at the park office.

There are several geocaches hidden in Eleven Mile State Park, including one near Howbert Point Campground. If you have a hand-held GPS device or a smartphone, you can go on a scavenger hunt, find the treasure, and leave something in its place for the next searcher to find.

If you love spotting wildlife in its natural habitat, you’ll find plenty at Eleven Mile State Park, which is home to everything from pronghorn antelope, elk, and deer to bears, porcupines, and rabbits. The park is a haven for birds, and you may spot pelicans on the reservoir, falcons in the air, and chickadees in the trees.

Eleven Mile State Park has wide-open, dark, clear skies that are perfect for stargazing. You can gaze up at the Milky Way, map out the constellations, and track the path of Orion. The Colorado Springs Astronomical Society sometimes hosts star parties in the summertime.

Eleven Mile State Park features prairie grasslands, tree-lined slopes and canyons, and wetland habitats by the reservoir. Wildflowers and shrubs like Indian paintbrush, scrub oak, copper mallow, golden aster, gilia, and wild rose grow in the uplands. The ridges are sparsely forested with limber and ponderosa pine, with an understory of mountain mahogany and Spanish bayonet. Douglas firs, Colorado blue spruce, and aspen grow in the canyons. Near the reservoir, you can find the rarely seen few-flowered ragwort and pale blue-eyed grass.

These zones host all manner of wildlife, including cottontail rabbits, white-tailed jackrabbits, muskrats, badgers, and ground squirrels. You may also see mule deer, coyotes, porcupines, and elk. Birders will enjoy spotting migrating and resident species, including horned larks, mountain bluebirds, and black-billed magpies. You may even be fortunate enough to spot a bald eagle or an American peregrine falcon. Besides the trout and salmon the reservoir is famous for, the park’s waters are also home to yellow perch, crawfish, sand shiners, and small-mouth bass.

Hikers can enjoy several trails that run through Eleven Mile State Park and take guided nature hikes with park rangers in the summer. The Coyote Ridge Interpretive Trail is a short, easy, self-guided nature trail loop that winds its way along a ridge. You can also pass time on the Midland Trail and the Black Bear Trail. If you like a challenge, grab your compass and head for the orienteering trail. This 3.16-mile trail has several waypoints that you must successfully navigate to complete the course.

During legal seasons, you may hunt ducks, geese, and other animals as permitted in specific portions of the park. Hunting maps are available online or at the park office.

Mountain bikers share most of the Eleven Mile State Park trail network with hikers. You can take your bike on the three-mile Midland Loop Trail or increase your degree of difficulty on the Aspen Trail and Ponderosa Trail. These trails lead you into the backcountry along the northern edge of the Midland route.

The Eleven Mile Reservoir is a popular spot for captaining your kayak, canoe, or sailboat. You can also rent small boats at the marina. During the summer, the water is great for sailboarding. Be advised that body-water-contact activities like wading (without waders) and swimming are not allowed because of the presence of algae.