Possible move to Denver. What is the lake situation like?

[Utemachine]

We quite possibly could be moving to Denver and I've heard the lake situation is lacking. As I weigh pros and cons what can I expect? Also, my office is in the Tech Center, what cities should I be looking at? Castle Rock caught my eye as you can actually buy a house with more than a 1/4 acre lot.

[JLG]

might pm member Timmy or skippa on here they are from the Denver area and avid tige owners will be able to help with info. Possibly look up squid member allan kendall on here at squidswake.com or waterskispecialty.com the tige dealer there and talk to bill the owner he is excellent. I have a buddy in castle rock and its beautiful but pricey as hell! Nice thing is you can take a train in to Denver for most events (beerfest). hope these help

[masongardner]

Where is it that you are coming from? Lakes here ( colorado springs and denver ) are Ok. Nothing great about them, but they get the job done. There is pueblo about 45 mins South of colorado springs which is about 45 mins south of denver. There is cherry creek in denver, that i have only been to twice. It's L shaped and was too busy for our liking. Maybe some people will jump on here that live in denver and give you a better idea. The easiest answer is, nothing special but you can get out and get the job done.

[tchancey]

Parker would be a good option for you. There are some areas with land, pine trees, and hills that almost feel like mountain homes. We're in Southeast Aurora (one exit up from Parker where we used to live). It's nice, too. Not to be confused with the "regular" Aurora that somebody will probably jump in & bash. SE Aurora and Aurora aren't even connected to each other.

As for lakes, if you're like us you'll decide the public ones are too small & crowded. We joined a private lake & it's a great setup. There's good water & camping every weekend.

And of course there are road trips. We're heading to Powell tomorrow and do that regularly. You'll be moving a bit further from there but you can still go back. There are great lakes within a 3 hour drive as well (Wyoming in particular with Glendo & Guernsey). Lots like McConaughy in Nebraska, but I haven't been there.

And the mountain lakes are cold, but very scenic. Grand Lake is a favorite hang out with us for dirt biking, hiking, skiing, and boating.

If you decide to proceed let me know...I've got a couple neighborhoods in particular I can point you to depending on exactly what you're looking for.

Good luck!

[Timmy!]

Some years the lakes are good, some years they are well, non-existent! LOL! I was a member out at Empire Reservoir but got tired of paying $1,200+ to boat on a lake for 2-3 months before the water level was too low to wakesurf on (be warned, sometimes some of the members get VERY defensive about the water level and like to argue but for my setup, if the water isn't 10' deep, the wave sucks). This year is near record water levels but that is after several years of low water. There are a ton of small, private lakes that cost anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000+ to be a member of. After being a member on the private lake for a few years, it was a little tough going back to the public lakes but as long as you get out early on Sat/Sun morning or ANY evening, you can get plenty of good riding in.

None of the lakes in this state are big by any stretch but we make do. I live in the north metro area so we go to Carter Lake, Boyd Lake and Horsetooth Reservoir. Wyoming (as mentioned) has some great lakes that are a reasonable drive. Grayrocks, Guernsey, Glendo all on the east side of I-25 and then you have Seminoe, Pathfinder and Alcova on the west side of the state (but still 4-5 hours).

[Iwndr]

Some years the lakes are good, some years they are well, non-existent! LOL! I was a member out at Empire Reservoir but got tired of paying $1,200+ to boat on a lake for 2-3 months before the water level was too low to wakesurf on (be warned, sometimes some of the members get VERY defensive about the water level and like to argue but for my setup, if the water isn't 10' deep, the wave sucks). This year is near record water levels but that is after several years of low water. There are a ton of small, private lakes that cost anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000+ to be a member of. After being a member on the private lake for a few years, it was a little tough going back to the public lakes but as long as you get out early on Sat/Sun morning or ANY evening, you can get plenty of good riding in.

None of the lakes in this state are big by any stretch but we make do. I live in the north metro area so we go to Carter Lake, Boyd Lake and Horsetooth Reservoir. Wyoming (as mentioned) has some great lakes that are a reasonable drive. Grayrocks, Guernsey, Glendo all on the east side of I-25 and then you have Seminoe, Pathfinder and Alcova on the west side of the state (but still 4-5 hours).

All of the Lakes in Wyoming are terrible and have been dry for years.....

[Iwndr]

It's bad up here..... Very Bad......... probably won't recover for twenty to thirty years.....

[masongardner]

Last year was our first year going to mcconaughy. It was sweet, but the ramps were freaking horrible. Pretty much the only wakeboat on the west side of the lake all day, every day.

[Timmy!]

Last year was our first year going to mcconaughy. It was sweet, but the ramps were freaking horrible. Pretty much the only wakeboat on the west side of the lake all day, every day.

They have boat ramps at McConaughy? I've always launched off of the beach.

[masongardner]

Ya man. "Ramps," very shallow.

[WYTige?]

It's bad up here..... Very Bad......... probably won't recover for twenty to thirty years.....

That's funny, but very true.

[skippabcool]

Sorry, Ute. I was in Utah and not online much. I have an office in the Tech Center and live east of Parker and north of Elizabeth, just into Elbert County. Where we are there is anything from 1/4 acre (not many, they are by a golf course), 1.5 acre, 5 acre, 10, 25, 30, and up. One thing that many places here have and I didn't want is a HOA. I am on a 1.5 acre lot and no HOA. Elbert is cheaper than Douglas and no vehicle emissions, yet. From my house it is 2 hours to Pueblo, which has been one of our favorite places to go but the water has been low. Cherry Creek is about 45 minutes. Early mornings and weekday lunch time works ok. I have had good water and bad water. Different than the lakes I go to in Utah, Cherry Creek has a designated ski / tow area that is small and the fishermen like to come sit in the ski lane. I have not been to Chatfield yet but have neighbors that only go there. It would probably be about an hour from me or just under.

I still prefer the lakes in Utah, where I go, over what we have here.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

[skippabcool]

Here is a thread about the lakes

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...o-Public-Water

[Utemachine]

Sorry, Ute. I was in Utah and not online much. I have an office in the Tech Center and live east of Parker and north of Elizabeth, just into Elbert County. Where we are there is anything from 1/4 acre (not many, they are by a golf course), 1.5 acre, 5 acre, 10, 25, 30, and up. One thing that many places here have and I didn't want is a HOA. I am on a 1.5 acre lot and no HOA. Elbert is cheaper than Douglas and no vehicle emissions, yet. From my house it is 2 hours to Pueblo, which has been one of our favorite places to go but the water has been low. Cherry Creek is about 45 minutes. Early mornings and weekday lunch time works ok. I have had good water and bad water. Different than the lakes I go to in Utah, Cherry Creek has a designated ski / tow area that is small and the fishermen like to come sit in the ski lane. I have not been to Chatfield yet but have neighbors that only go there. It would probably be about an hour from me or just under.

I still prefer the lakes in Utah, where I go, over what we have here.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

Thanks for the input everyone. Last week I drove through Parker and it was a nice looking town. My office is in the Tech Center as well. What kind of commute would I have from Parker and Castle Rock? Do you pay the 470 toll everyday?

[skippabcool]

Thanks for the input everyone. Last week I drove through Parker and it was a nice looking town. My office is in the Tech Center as well. What kind of commute would I have from Parker and Castle Rock? Do you pay the 470 toll everyday?

From Parker to the Tech Center there are a variety of back roads depending on where you are at. There are more and more back ways in that are less congested plus you can use different routes to keep the commute less boring. I use to use E470 from Parker Road to I-25 on a regular basis, didn't want to sit in traffic and my company paid for it. For E470, you get a transponder and can set it up a couple of ways for your payment. The only down side for Castle Rock coming into the Tech Center is that you essentially have one road coming in, unless you loop over to Parker or over to Highlands Ranch. Another plus for Parker is that it is closer to the airport if you have to travel much. Another place that I know several have moved to that work in the Tech Center is the area around Southlands.