After eight wonderful days camping on the shores of Dillon Reservoir, we packed up our camper and headed for Lake Granby. We drove north on Highway 9 from Frisco to Kremmling then east on Highway 40 to the city of Granby, From there we headed northeast on Highways 34 and 6 until we reached our campground on the shores of Lake Granby.
Sights along the way
We crossed over the Blue River several times as we drove between Dillon Reservoir and Kremmling. As the Blue River feeds into Green Mountain Reservoir, near Heeney, it’s significantly larger than it was as it fed into Dillon Reservoir only 25 miles upstream.
The Blue River joins the Colorado River near Kremmling and eventually flows into the Gulf of California. Following the Colorado River upstream from Kremmling leads to Lake Granby, the fourth largest lake in Colorado.
The headwaters for the Colorado River are just north of Lake Granby in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Arapahoe Bay at Lake Granby
At the east end of Lake Granby is Arapahoe Bay. The area surrounding this part of Lake Granby borders Colorado’s beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park and offers endless opportunities for camping, kayaking, fishing, and hiking.
Camping
We enjoyed four days of camping at Arapaho Bay Campground on the east end of Lake Granby. Arapaho Bay Campground has three loops with a total of 84 campsites: Big Rock (1-22), Moraine (23-51), and Roaring Fork (52-84).
Most of the campsites in Arapaho Bay are by reservation. A few, however, are available on a first come basis. They’re indicated by blue dots on the map. We were fortunate to get site 27 on the Moraine Loop. It’s not directly on the water, but it’s close enough that we could safely leave our kayaks on the shore and see them from our campsite.
Kayaking
With our campground conveniently located on the shores of Lake Granby, we kayaked and fished every day. The water was wonderfully calm in the mornings and, even when the wind picked up in the afternoon, Arapaho Bay was relatively sheltered.
Fishing
Tom and Dennis enjoyed fishing in the Bay. The daily limit is two rainbow trout and, once they figure out what the fish were biting on, they had no problem catching.
Hiking
While Tom, an obsessive fisherman, continued harassing the fish, Dennis, Wendy and I hiked to Watanga Lake from our campground via the Roaring Fork Trail. It was a beautiful out-and-back trail that follows Roaring Fork Arapaho Creek for much of the hike. We even made some friends along the way!
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