Crawford Reservoir

This cache is located off Highway 92 just south of the town of Crawford. There is room to get off the highway near the cache site and there isn’t too much traffic normally. However, use caution, as always, when near the highway. Use caution as the cache site is in direct view of the campgrounds and muggles may be observing.

From the cache site, you will have a panoramic view of the lake. Also, if you look closely towards the north-west corner of the lake, you will be able to spot the dam. Here is a brief history about how the lake was conceived:

The Crawford Reservoir was completed in 1963. The reservoir construction, known as the Smith Fork Project, was part of the Colorado River Storage Project Act that was passed in April 1956. The primary purpose of this act was agriculture. Some of the other notable dams created by this act are the Flaming Gorge (Northern Utah), the Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell), the Curecanti Dam creating the Morrow Point Reservoir (in the Black Canyon) and the Navajo Dam creating Navajo Lake (in Southern Colorado/Northern New Mexico).

Construction began on the dam in 1960. The dam is an earthfill structure that measures 162 feet high and 580 feet long. The dam creates the Crawford Reservoir which has a total capacity of 14,395 acre-feet of water and a surface area of 406 acres. Once the dam was finished and the reservoir filled, there became a need to move the now Colorado State Highway 92. Prior to the reservoir being there, the highway did not veer around the lake to the East as it does at present day. Rather than turning towards the East, it continued straight at the top of the hill South of Crawford. In fact, when the lake is really low during the fall and winter months, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the old highway.

Today, the water in the reservoir is used to irrigate farms and ranches downstream while the lake and surrounding areas makes up Crawford State Park which is managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The park offers numerous outdoor activities including boating, camping, fishing, swimming, hiking and wildlife observation.

Happy Hunting!

Congrats to BG2015 on the FTF!