A multi-year $15 million project to improve Horsetooth Reservoir and Carter Lake parking lots, roads and entrances is underway at Larimer County’s two largest and most visited reservoirs.
Crews are expected to start staging construction equipment and materials in August for the Horsetooth Reservoir project. That includes South Bay and Inlet Bay access road and parking lot repaving and an expanded turn lane at Horsetooth Reservoir’s main entrance along West Larimer County Road 38E, according to a Larimer County Department of Natural Resources news release.
Access to all areas of Horsetooth Reservoir will remain open during the construction project but temporary closures will be in place. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.
For more information and updates on the project, click here.
Crew are building an access road to North Pines Campground at Carter Lake, southwest of Loveland, Colo., in this July 22, 2025, image.
Crews continue to work on similar projects at Carter Lake, southwest of Loveland.
That work includes parking lot repaving and road improvements at Eagle Campground, North Pines Campground and Big Thompson Day Use Area and building a new Quarry overflow parking lot. Crews also are working on expansion of two turn lanes to access Big Thompson Day Use Area and Quarry along Larimer County Road 31.
Construction at Carter Lake is expected to be completed in 2026.
For more information and updates on this project, click here.
Funding for the projects includes $11 million from the Colorado Federal Lands Access Program, $3 million from Larimer County and $1 million from the Bureau of Reclamation’s Federal Lands Transportation Program.
Horsetooth and Carter Lake reservoirs attract more than 1.5 million visitors annually, making them among the top 10 most visited reservoirs in the state, according to the news release.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Two of Colorado’s most visited reservoirs receiving major improvements
