Spillway Campground

Spillway Campground is perched along the South Platte River near the base of the dam of Eleven Mile Reservoir. Adventurists and families alike will find things to do here. Birding is excellent, as is hiking. Rock climbers enjoy the solid rocky cliffs of the canyon and fly fishermen find abundant catches in the river. Hike the Overlook Trail for breathtaking views of Eleven Mile Canyon and Reservoir. Occasionally, golden eagles can be viewed nesting in the nearby granite cliffs and crags, and springtime brings higher chances of spotting bald eagles. Visitors enjoy fishing by shore or canoe; rainbow and brown trout, kokanee salmon and pike are among the species anglers are likely to find. Spillway Campground offers about 23 campsites. Parking aprons are gravel and can fit a maximum trailer length of 25 feet. Amenities include vault toilets, picnic tables, a hand pump for drinking water, and campfire rings. The campground, at altitude 8,500 feet, is located at the edge of Eleven Mile Canyon, furthest from the canyon entrance. Some campsites are shaded by scattered spruce and ponderosa pine. Spillway is the closest campground to the Eleven Mile Reservoir, which spans 3,405 surface acres and 5 miles in length. Eleven Mile Canyon was cut by the South Platte River and is bordered by polished gray granite cliffs. Visitors enjoy the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Petrified redwood stumps up to 14 feet wide and thousands of detailed fossils of insects and plants reveal the story of a very different, prehistoric Colorado.