Carter Lake: the permit, the trails, the launch and the beach

Carter Lake is the reservoir ten minutes north-west of town on County Road 31: about 1,100 acres of water, 3 miles long and a mile wide, at 5,760 feet, with roughly 1,000 acres of public land around it. It is Colorado-Big Thompson Project water, so the Bureau of Reclamation sets the level and Larimer County Natural Resources runs the recreation, all year. This is how the pieces work.

The permit

Every vehicle needs an entrance permit. The County’s permit page prices a daily permit at $10 a vehicle, $10 for a boat trailer alone, or $20 for a vehicle with a boat trailer, valid 24 hours from purchase. Canoes, kayaks and paddleboards carried in or on the vehicle need no extra permit.

An annual permit is $100 for a Larimer County resident and $130 for anyone else, good for twelve months from the end of the month you buy it, and it also covers Flatiron, Pinewood and Horsetooth reservoirs and the County’s open spaces, Devil’s Backbone among them. There are $70 annuals for anyone 65 or over and for veterans, a $10 annual for people with disabilities, and a $45 Bison permit for county residents with income restrictions. Adding a trailered boat to an annual makes it $200 resident, $260 non-resident. An annual does not include camping.

Daily permits are sold at the automated pay stations on South County Road 31 and West County Road 8E, cards only. Annuals are sold at the Natural Resources offices at 1800 South County Road 31, about two miles north of the lake, at the seasonal gatehouses, and online at larimernaturalresources.t2hosted.com.

The launch and the inspection

Every boat must pass an aquatic nuisance species inspection before it launches. Hand-launched, human-powered craft are exempt; the County’s boating page puts it as “anything with a motor or a trailer that goes into the water loses its exemption.” The inspection stations are at North Pines and the North Ramp. Have the receipt from your last inspection ready; a boat with no receipt or seal, a blue receipt, or an out-of-state history gets a full clean-drain-dry check and possibly a hot-water decontamination, which runs 8 am–4 pm while the ramps are open and never after dark.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed New Zealand mudsnails in Carter Lake on August 17, 2026. Boats stop for an exit inspection on the way out, and may need extra inspection or decontamination before entering other waters. Clean, drain and dry everything that touched the water, paddleboards and fishing gear included.

Ramp hours in 2026, from the boating page:

Ramp	Dates	Hours
North Pines	April 1–May 22	7 am–7 pm
	May 23–September 30	6 am–10 pm
	October 1–31	7 am–7 pm
	November 1 to end of season	8 am–4 pm
North Ramp (marina)	May 1–22	7 am–7 pm
	May 23–September 7	6 am–10 pm
	September 8–30	6 am–8 pm
	October 1–18	9 am–5 pm, then closed for the season
South Shore	April 1–May 22	7 am–7 pm
	May 23–September 7	6 am–10 pm, then closed for the season

No new launches once inspections close, though a boat already on the water can stay out. Parking at the North Ramp fills on summer weekends and holidays; the County suggests arriving before 10 am or after 4 pm. On the water, travel is counter-clockwise, everyone aboard needs a life jacket, and children under 13 wear theirs.

Carter Lake Marina, at 4011 South County Road 31 across from Eagle Campground, is family-owned and open 9 am–5 pm daily, with 126 slips and 80 moorings. It rents pontoons and a fishing boat by the half day or full day.

The beach

Swimming is allowed only at the swim beach at Dam 2, open sunrise to sunset. The County says it typically runs from Memorial Day weekend to mid-September, with the dates varying year to year, and asks you to call 970-619-4570 before driving out. Dogs are not allowed on the beach, cliff jumping is prohibited, and so is any recreation within 100 feet of the dams.

Camping

Seven campgrounds are named on the County’s page: Sky View, South Shore, Carter Knolls, Big Thompson, Eagle, Lowell’s and North Pines. Walk-up camping without a reservation is not allowed; book at larimercamping.com or by phone at 1-800-397-7795, same day included. The reservation site lists 113 sites at Carter Lake: 92 standard electric, 9 standard, 8 walk-to, 3 group electric and a pavilion, in the Carter Knolls, Eagle, North Pines, Sky View and South Shore loops. Carter Knolls and North Pines have no electricity, and Carter Knolls has no water spigot; every campground has vault toilets and drinking water.

Check-in is noon, check-out 11 am. One wheeled camping unit per site, extra ground tents allowed, six to eight people maximum. Cancellation is $6.35 a site plus the reservation fee. Food and coolers go in a vehicle or a locked hard-sided container; there are bears. Quiet hours are 10 pm–6 am, alcohol is allowed only at campsites and on boats, and there is no camping or fire on the west side of the lake.

Sky View, opened in May 2022, is the group campground: 15 electric sites in three pods on six acres, up to 120 people, with a pavilion and paved roads laid out for visitors with limited mobility. The whole campground books from two years to 181 days ahead, a pod from 180 days to one day ahead, a single site up to a month ahead.

The trails

The County’s trail list did not load the day this was checked, so the distances come from its printed material. The Sundance Trail runs along the west side of the lake from the Sundance Trailhead near North Pines; the County’s brochure marks it at 3 miles, and its guided hike of August 2026 described an easy 3.5 miles with 72 feet of gain. The County sends you to COTREX for conditions and closures. Dogs are allowed on a leash of 10 feet or less.

Fishing

Shore and boat fishing are open all year for rainbow, cutthroat and splake trout, walleye, yellow perch and largemouth bass. Walleye are three a day and must be under 21 inches; bass five a day and over 15 inches; trout the statewide four. No ice fishing; the County says the ice is unsafe. Anyone 16 or over needs a Colorado fishing license: in 2026 a resident annual is $44.87, a non-resident annual $124.01, and a one-day license $18.07 resident or $21.90 non-resident, all plus the $12.76 habitat stamp. Licenses are sold at cpwshop.com, by phone and at retailers.