Is Horsetooth Reservoir full enough for summer?

As summer recreation ramps up across Northern Colorado, many residents are asking the same question: Will drought and low snowpack affect boating, swimming and other activities at Horsetooth Reservoir in Larimer County?

The short answer, according to the water utility company in Berthoud, Northern Water, is no. Horsetooth Reservoir is expected to provide a mostly normal recreation season, even as dry conditions affect other reservoirs across the state.

“Just like most normal years, Horsetooth is very close to full here at the end of May and going into June,” said Jeff Stahla, public information officer for Northern Water.

That may seem surprising in a dry year, but Stahla said Horsetooth is not filled only by local runoff. The reservoir is part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, a decades-old water system designed to move and store water across Northern Colorado, including during drought years.

“The Colorado Big Thompson Project collects water over in the Colorado River Basin at the very headwaters of the Colorado,” Stahla said. “It stores it in Lake Granby and then delivers that water from Lake Granby through a couple of reservoirs and power plants and delivers that water to Horsetooth and Carter Lake.”

Northern Water and the Bureau of Reclamation have been moving water into Horsetooth since last fall, Stahla said, allowing the reservoir to enter the summer season near full capacity. Many visitors assume drought automatically means low reservoir levels, but Horsetooth operates differently from reservoirs that depend more heavily on local streamflow and annual snowpack. 

“When this year turned out to be a very dry year, it actually is one of the reasons why this project was built,” Stahla said.

The Colorado-Big Thompson Project provides supplemental water for cities, farms and industries throughout Northern Colorado. It also allows water managers to store water during wetter years and use it when conditions turn dry.

“We’ve had some recently wet years, and so we’ve held water in storage,” Stahla said. “We’ve had a big dry year in 2012 and one in 2002, and we’ve had them regularly over time.” 

Not every Northern Colorado reservoir is in the same position. Stahla said Boyd Lake, located south of Fort Collins, is expected to be lower than normal because it relies more heavily on local water conditions.

“Boyd Lake is going to be lower than it normally is because of the conditions of the streams on this side of the Continental Divide,” he said. 

Lower water levels can affect boat ramps, beaches, marinas, and businesses that depend on summer visitors. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has said Boyd Lake Marina will be closed for the 2026 season because of forecasted low water levels.

Some residents are already noticing the contrast between the two reservoirs.

“Horestooth is up very high,” said a Northern Colorado resident and boat owner who asked for anonymity. “It should be that way for a little bit still, but that’s because Boyd has no water in it.”

The same pattern is playing out elsewhere along the Front Range. In Boulder County, Boulder Reservoir is also expected to maintain normal water levels through the summer despite drought conditions, while nearby Union Reservoir has limited its swim beach to wading because of low water levels. Like Horsetooth, Boulder Reservoir receives water through the Colorado-Big Thompson Project.

At Horsetooth, employees working directly with visitors say the season has started much like any other year. Lucy Triplett, a seasonal visitor services employee at Horsetooth Reservoir, said she hasn’t seen any unusual conditions.

“This season we’ve been pretty high,” Triplett said of the reservoir’s water levels.

She added that visitor traffic has also remained steady. 

“I’ve heard it’s pretty average for our typical summer,” Triplett said.

Triplett said many visitors have not raised concerns about drought conditions while at the reservoir.

“Most people who come out here are just excited to get on the water,” Triplett said. “I haven’t really heard many complaints about water levels this season.”

According to one local boat owner, higher water levels are necessary to maintain the recreational experiences that people have when participating in activities at Horsetooth. 

“As the water drops, though, more of those underwater obstacles start to show, and you have less and less acre-feet of water to actually be on,” said the resident.

When water levels aren’t at a good rate, simple tasks like launching the boat into the reservoir become a problem.

That’s why drought remains a concern for water managers. Stahla said Northern Water regularly adjusts releases based on available supply and has policies that allow some cities to carry over part of their water allotments from one year to the next. The goal is to create more flexibility during dry years.

“We know that more people are moving to Northern Colorado, and so we’re working with cities on how to increase their water supply and how to use it more efficiently,” Stahla said.

As Northern Colorado continues to grow, Stahla said long-term planning will remain critical to maintaining reliable water supplies for cities, agriculture and recreation. Horsetooth may be well positioned this summer, but the region’s broader water challenges are not going away.

“We certainly do things differently than when the project first started, and we do them differently than we did even 15 years ago,” he added. 

For now, however, visitors heading to Horsetooth Reservoir can expect a familiar summer experience at one of Northern Colorado’s most popular outdoor destinations.

“We are always altering the Thompson Project depending on the year,” Stahla said. “It’s going to be a pretty normal year for recreation and for the level of Horsetooth.”