Fishing · State Forest State Park
Ranger Lakes
Roadside, kid-friendly lakes in State Forest State Park — stocked trout, an accessible pier, and a short nature-trail loop.
Toggle USGS Topo / Terrain / Satellite / Street (top-right) · red = special-regulation water, confirm current rules · waters © CPW Colorado Fishing Atlas
Ranger Lakes are the easy ones — a small cluster of stocked lakes right by the road in Colorado State Forest State Park, with a campground and a short, flat nature trail looping around them. They are regularly stocked and open to bait, which makes them one of the best places up here to take kids and teach them to fish.
You’ll find rainbow and brown trout, with kokanee salmon in the mix, and there is an accessible fishing pier for anglers with disabilities. The 1.25-mile Ranger Lakes Nature Trail starts right at the campground and makes an easy leg-stretch between casts. As with the rest of the park, you’ll need a State Parks pass.
The Water
Elevation
9,247 ft
Fish
Rainbow & brown trout, kokanee
Access
Roadside · accessible pier
Good for
Families · bait OK
Good to Know
- A valid Colorado fishing license is required, plus a State Parks pass to enter State Forest State Park.
- Stocked and open to bait — one of the easiest, most kid-friendly waters in the park, with an accessible fishing pier.
- The easy 1.25-mile Ranger Lakes Nature Trail loops the lakes right from the campground.
- Best from late May into early October.
What’s Biting & What’s Stocked
The current stocking, the species, ice conditions, and the full Northwest Larimer fishing atlas — refreshed weekly — live in the app.
Coming soon — Larimer Wilds Fishing: offline maps, live GPS, and what’s stocked for every water up here, right in your pocket.
Built by Many Hands — Give a Little Back
Love this guide? Wear it. Every hat, tee, and cozy layer in our Red Feather Lakes collection helps us keep mapping the water and keeping this guide free — mountain apparel designed right here in the high country.
Shop the Collection →This fishery doesn’t sustain itself. Every trout is stocked and every acre stewarded by the public agencies we lean on for this guide — if you love these waters, please pitch in for them too:
- Colorado Parks & Wildlife — the stocking, the fishery & the Colorado Fishing Atlas Donate →
- Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest (USFS) — the public land & lakes themselves Support →
- OpenStreetMap contributors — the Street basemap Donate →
- Google & USGS — location, ratings & topographic maps
Fishing details compiled by the Red Feather Lakes Travel Guide from the sources above. Photography by us — more of our own water images coming as we fish them.