Great Weekend Getaways - Watery Adventures

Grand Lake

By Dan Leeth

Photo courtesy Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce

The sky blushes as the first rays of dawn creep over the mountains. Grand Lake appears glassy smooth, forest and rocks reflecting in its mirrored surface. One peak dominates.

"That's our signature mountain," explains Polly Lawler of the Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. "It's called Mt. Craig, but we affectionately know it as Baldy."

Covering 600 acres, Grand Lake is Colorado's largest natural body of water and the headwaters of the Colorado River. Here, at the scenic verge of Rocky Mountain National Park, sailors tack and jib across its sapphire surface. Kayakers and canoeists paddle past shoreline deer, elk and moose. Others employ piston power to ply its waters, aboard everything from rented pontoon boats to home-owned wooden speedsters. Anglers troll for trout and kokanee, picnickers dine on grassy slopes and swimmers splash in the icy liquid of this glacial-carved retreat.

Beside its shore lies the village of Grand Lake, a 500-resident hamlet that hasn't yet succumbed to the tour-bus crowd. While it offers trinket and T-shirt emporiums, one also finds artisan enclaves vending paintings, sculpture and log furniture along the town's wooden boardwalks.

"We don't have any chain hotels, chain restaurants or fast food," says Lawler. "Our Western heritage has been preserved."

Landlubbers find the area rife with dry activities. Bikers peddle paths, hikers tackle trails and golfers yell "fore" down fairways. For those who simply want to ogle the scenery, Grand Lake Lodge offers a spacious deck overlooking lake and countryside.

That platform will be a prime viewing site on July 4th when the community hosts one of Colorado's largest fireworks shows, a pyrotechnic barrage launched from a floating raft. On July 16 and 17, the town hosts its 58th annual Western Weekend, complete with parade, country music, ice-cream social, pancake breakfast and barbecued buffalo meat. Grand Lake is also home to the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theater, which presents summer stock Broadway musicals June 17 through Sept. 24.

Whether folks first come to Grand Lake for the activities, Lawler says they all stay for the beauty. It's difficult not to fall under the spell of Baldy's reflection.

Information: Grand Lake Chamber of Commerce, 970-627-3372, www.grandlakechamber.com.

Please note: This article is from our archives and some facts may have changed. Please contact your nearest AAA office and ask to speak to a travel counselor to update you on the latest travel information.

Dan Leeth is a full-time travel writer and photographer from Aurora. He's simmered in numerous hot springs, recently ran Colorado River rapids in a wooden rowboat and-plied with enough antifreeze-might someday even take a dunk in Grand Lake.