Eleven Mile Canyon Recreation Area

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• Michael
  Aug 14, 2023
  Beautiful rock formations, river, etc.

  We barely scratched the surface of this place-- we drove all the way to the end of the Eleven-Mile Canyon Recreation Area (EMCRA), hiked the Overlook Trail, then left because a thunderstorm had arrived.

  Some things to know:
  * There's a "day use" fee ($9 per car as of Aug 2023)
  * The road is unpaved dirt; it's "washboard"-y in many places and narrow at times, and goes through a few short one-lane tunnels
  * Dogs must be kept on leash at all times
  * Some of the campground areas have bathrooms (of the rustic "latrine" type-- no running water)
  * We didn't see any trash cans; be prepared to take your trash with you when you leave
  * Gate attendants will provide a map on request
  * Pretty sure the road was between 8-9 miles long

  We saw people fishing, camping, rock climbing, wading in the river, etc. They appeared to be having a good time, but I won't opine any further on these activities since we didn't try them.

  [The rest of this review is about the Overlook Trail-- one of EMCRA's two hiking trails-- since that's what we did.]

  The Overlook trail is an out-and-back trail that climbs from the road to the top of the canyon wall, culminating in a spectacular view of Elevenmile Reservoir and dam. According to the map, you can see the Collegiate Peaks in the distance, but for us the approaching storm limited visibility somewhat. Still, it was awesome and worthwhile. The hike is a 1-mile roundtrip; that's 1/2 mile each way with a ~400ft climb/descent, so it is pretty steep in places. The trail has lots of well-constructed rock staircases, so I didn't find it too difficult, but if your dog is small- or medium-sized, be prepared to help or carry them some. In a few places where the trail was difficult to discern, we found the marker cairns (stacks of rocks) helpful.
  
  The trailhead is near the Spillway Campground, which is the last campground before the road ends. The map says "DO NOT park in Spillway campground"; there are places along the road (opposite side from the trailhead) where you can park. After parking, we walked to Spillway Campground to use the restrooms there, and we were glad to find that there's a "spur" trail connecting from the campground to the Overlook trail. We used this on the way up, and the main trail on the way back down.

We dug up a dog picture at Eleven Mile Canyon Recreation Area.

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