Farewell To The Piney
Colorado recently lost access to one of its crown jewels, Piney Lake above Vail. The reasons for that are complicated, and hope remains that a buyer for the property can be found who might restore some form of operation similar to what has existed there for many years. But as of October 2026, those hopes are based only in optimism and not in any concrete plans.
First some background. Piney Lake is located near the base of Mount Powell in the Gore Range, approximately an hour's drive from Vail. The road to it is an unpaved dirt track that usually gets graded by the Forest Service each spring, though it tends to get worse over the course of the summer as rainstorms and the frequent vehicle traffic make it rutted. Half of the lake borders the Eagle's Nest Wilderness, with the other half being private land currently owned by Denver Water. One needs to cross the their property to access the lake, which hasn't been a problem since a concessionaire called the Piney River Ranch has been operating a restaurant, boat rental, and wedding venue there for many years. Its a truly spectacular setting. The mountains seem to rise straight up out of the lake, though that is something of an illusion. Between those mountains and the inlet to the lake is well over a mile of great beaver pond fishing in the Piney River. There is also excellent fishing from the outlet of the lake down for about a mile, before the Piney drops into a heavily wooded canyon en route to its confluence with the Colorado River many miles below. The lake also fishes well, and can be accessed from the shore or from the canoes and SUPs that could be rented. Piney is also famous as a wedding venue, for there is a huge deck extending from the restaurant down to the water's edge. About 35 nuptials a year were held there against the amazing backdrop.
So why is this all ending? Even as the infrastructure has been built up over the years by the private business owners, its been on a somewhat tenuous basis as they've never owned the land that all of the structures were built on. Denver Water owns the land, and until recently they've been a good landlord. DW used to own most of the water rights to the Piney River with the idea that some day, they might want to build some kind of reservoir down below that they would fill with water from the Piney. But years ago they relinquished those water rights, so there's really no reason for them to own the land up at Piney Lake anymore.
Now Denver Water is experiencing issues of their own. Coming off what might be the worse water year ever experienced in Colorado, they are trying to get their customers to use 20% less water than usual. They've written $30,000 in fines and over 2,000 warnings to their end users trying to encourage compliance. But although Denver Water is a utility, its also a business and its business is selling water. If you reduce the amount of product you sell by 20%, then you're making 20% less revenue. They're trying to reduce costs and look for other sources of revenue, including selling off some of their real estate portfolio. So why not that incredible piece of property they own in Eagle County? To facilitate a sale, they elected not renew the lease to the private concessionaires who've been running Piney River Lake for well over twenty years.
There is hope that some public or quasi-public entity like Eagle County or the Eagle Valley Land Trust might step up to purchase the land, so people can once again access the lake and its surroundings. Denver Water has indicated that they're open to this idea. The next main step is determining what this singular property is worth. The Land Trust sent an appraiser up there to try and determine a figure, but that isn't going to be easy. When a house goes up of sale, its price is determined in part by what other comparable properties have sold for. But Piney Lake is unique, there truly is no comparable place to it in the world. Houses in Vail or Beaver Creek sitting on half acre parcels sell for tens of millions of dollars, so how much would many acres situated in paradise sell for? What's to prevent some hedge fund billionaire or tech bro from just writing an enormous check no matter what some appraiser thinks, putting up a big fence with cameras, and keeping it all to themselves? And wouldn't Denver Water be obligated to take the highest offer? Another big variable is road to the lake itself. Its pretty lousy, and not accessible in the winter. But if the property appraises at twelve million dollars, and someone comes along and offers fifty, then that buyer could probably afford to pay for the road to get graded on their own dime, and not the Forest Service's.
But whether or not that eventually happens, the business as its been known and loved for years is gone and is not coming back. I count myself among those who will really miss it. For about fifteen years, I've been going to Piney once a month driving a bobtail truck and filling the four 1,000 gallon tanks there. Piney is off the grid, and everything is run off a large pair of generators. I typically spend about an hour filling the tanks, then another hour or two fishing either above or below the lake. When it comes time to leave, I always hate doing so because its such a beautiful and inspiring place. I've always wanted to spend the night up there, either in one of their cabins, outfitter tents, or just camping. But summers are a busy time for me, working seven days a week running river shuttles, doing float trips on the Colorado River, or delivering propane. But when I found out it was closing, and that the last Sunday in September would not only be their closing day for the season but maybe forever, I knew that I had to get up there one last time to spend the night.
So on the last Saturday in September, after running river shuttles I packed my little one man pontoon boat into the back of my 4Runner and headed up to Piney Lake. I made much better time getting there than I usually do in my propane truck, and arrived in time before dark to get my boat inflated and fly rod rigged. There was one last wedding being held there that night, so I avoided the wedding guests and kept to myself. There was a nice wooded spot near the lake's outlet that I parked my truck at, from which I could carry my boat to the lake from.
Just before dark I rowed out onto the lake and drank in the magnificent scene. The aspen-covered slopes curving up the rocky peaks were draped in peak fall color, brilliant yellows contrasting to the deep blue sky and even bluer water. I loved being in my pontoon boat, it felt far more comfortable and safer than the canoe I once borrowed from them to access the lake from. I have an aluminum canoe of my own, but have never been an avid canoeist. Once on a Cape Cod pond my French-Canadian girlfriend crawled back to my end of the canoe to get some loving and the whole thing tipped over, sending us and all our stuff into the water. I've never really trusted canoes since. My pontoon boat is much more stable and comfortable.
The lake had a lot more aquatic growth in it than normal, something that practically every body of water in Colorado has experienced in this all-time warmest summer. On my first trip to the Piney in June, I ended up not fishing because even then, the river was too low and choked with green weeds. I attempted to float a couple dry flies over some brookies, but as soon as one of the flies would go under it would snag green snot which required removal. There weren't many deep pools left for the fish to find refuge in, so I'm sure they were stressed already without getting a sharp hook in their mouth as well. So I gave up pretty quickly and was glad that I had the opportunity in the past to fish this scenic piece of water.
Once I got out onto the lake, there were weeds even there that went way out almost to the middle, but there was an open path where the small amount of current kept the growth at bay. In that clear water I could see rising fish, so I rowed through the weeds to keep them unspooked. Putting my pontoon boat a rod's length from the clear water, I readied my three weight dry fly rod. Not only did the weeds keep my boat from creating waves, it also prevented the occasional light breeze from moving the boat around. Perfect.
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At the farthest corner of the lake I saw a dark shape that didn't quite fit in, so I rowed over to take a closer look. It was almost completely dark and I didn't see what it was until I got closer. It turned out to be a moose, and as I sat there motionless in the water two more moose emerged from the shadows to join it slurping weeds out of water. One them looked in my direction and kind of snorted, but I wasn't too worried that he might swim faster than I could row that agile pontoon boat.
By now it was fully dark, though it wouldn't be for long. There was going to be a full moon that night, and soon a big moon as orange as a pumpkin appeared over the hill. An already spectacular scene somehow got even better. I had a surprise in store for the employees a little later, and looked for the best spot from which to initiate my plan. With me I had two very large fireworks shells purchased in Wyoming that are definitely not supposed to be used in Colorado. We've been sitting on them for years. Back in the day, we and the neighbors would set them off on the Fourth of July over the river, but for the last few summers its been too dry to do it. So our fireworks celebration has been on New Year's Eve for the last few winters, but last season it was too dry even then, with no snow on the ground.
But I wanted to give the employees and wedding guests something to remember on this last night of business. I found a spot across from the lake where I could aim the firework tube out over the middle towards the ranch. It was still too early to do it, for the employees didn't finish until 10pm. They were notified to expect a special show at 10:15pm.
Until then, I had some time to kill. I rowed my boat back and forth across the lake in the brilliant moonlight, enjoying myself in that water as much as I've ever enjoyed rowing anything in my life. It was just wonderful. There's big beaver lodge over on the west side, and sure enough once I got close to it a couple of V wakes appeared as a pair of beavers swam around me in circles. Meanwhile the post-wedding dance had begun, and the music boomed across the lake. For a while I didn't mind it, but the music wasn't all that great at times. Some of it really didn't fit in with the setting very well. Really no music at all would have been perfect, but being a freeloader and not in the process of spending thousands of dollars at the ranch I couldn't really complain. So I brought out my secret weapon - some earbuds and put my own music on to drown out the racket. This was better, I mostly listened to some spacy Pink Floyd just loud enough to keep the ranch music from seeping in. It fit the moon-drenched setting much better. The night was so clear, that even with the moon as bright as it was, there were still a thousand stars to be seen as well as the Milky Way. I had long given up on doing any fishing, and was just enjoying my unique view. The lake had no wind at all, and if I didn't move the surface would soon turn into a dark reflective mirror. No one moon but two, as well as two Gore Ranges, and two sets of Piney Ranch party lights.
At some point I switched to some Joy Division, and began playing a very bouncy tune called "Digital". The next thing I knew, I was rocking back and forth in my little boat, basically dancing like crazy from the waist up. The pontoons have a pretty curved rocker to them, and soon I was bouncing up and down, sending waves from where I was outward to every corner of the otherwise-still lake. I even got my oars into it, pulling and pushing into the lake with vigor. It was great. I can only imagine with the moose and beavers must have thought of it.
Occasionally I glanced down at my watch, checking the time. When I first gave up fishing it was only around 8pm, and I wondered how I was going spend the next couple of hours. Turned out, the next couple of hours went by in what felt like a few minutes. Time both sped up and stood still. At 10pm, I began rowing from the middle of the lake to its eastern shore, where a tube holding a Wyoming artillery shell was braced against the bank. It was aimed upwards and towards the Piney River Lake Ranch, currently hosting the Last Wedding of many hundreds. Beautiful and sad all at the same time. Is that what poignant means?
I beached the boat and made my way to the tube, which was locked and loaded with the first of two shells. There were three sources of ignition in my various pockets, so I was ready. Earlier I had informed a couple of people of what would happen at 10:15pm, and hoped that the word would spread from that seed. At 10:14pm, I squatted beside the tube ready to light a butane fire starter, and ...nothing. I tried multiple times but just a pathetic tiny dot of blue flame appeared. Time for Plan B. I grabbed a Bic lighter from my wader pocket, leaned over to light it with that, and that wouldn't work, either. My last hope was a third Bic lighter back in my boat, so I ran back to that and got it out of my fishing bag. Back at the tube, I tried to light it, and it wouldn't produce much of a flame either, but it did make just enough of a blue light to give me hope. The night had gotten quite cool, and being right beside the lake it was damp, too. I lit that Bic several times right next to the wick and finally, a small shower of sparks began hissing from the fuse's tip. I backed up, and could hear some whoops from across the lake. Apparently the sparks were visible from there. The Piney River Ranch looked like a small ocean liner from where I stood, reflected on the mirror-like surface.
The artillery shell shot up, and created a huge white snowflake of sparks two hundred feet in the air and a hundred feet in diameter. It was accompanied with some loud crackling noises, then followed by a huge booming echo that probably rattled windows in Vail ten miles away. I had aimed the tube so that the shell would arc towards the ranch and give everyone a good look. There were more distant cheers from across the lake as I hurriedly readied its sequel. The second one went up and was more colorful than the first, though it didn't echo so loudly. That also illicited more happy shouts, and with that my work was done. The Piney River Ranch might be closing, but it was going out with a bang. Or two.
After that,I got back in my pontoon boat, and rowed around out there until midnight. It was an almost cloudless and windless night, and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else in the world. I did a lap around the lake, rowing up the Piney as far as I could, skirting the beaver lodge again, and revisiting the spot where the moose were. Once the crowds petered out, I rowed over the ranch's dock. My feet were starting to get cold and I saw that some of the people were still up an sitting around a campfire. It was the wedding party, including the bride and groom. Most of the people there had seen the display, which I was glad for. I was still suffering from a persistent sore throat, and didn't want to infect anyone else, so I only stayed a couple of minutes. After absorbing some heat, I got back into my boat to row off into the moonlight.
Back out into the middle of the lake, I slumped down in my seat and got supremely comfortable. I could make the boat slowly spin with just the barest flick of my wrist, and did just that, going round and round taking in my surroundings. It was like being in a magnificent black and white Ansel Adams photograph, combining his moonrise and Yosemite work. But then I noticed that I was beginning to nod off a little, and realized it was time to head back to the warm comfy bed I had waiting for me in the back of my 4Runner. Whatever thermal benefit I'd gotten from the fire had long worn off. My cold feet were the only things keeping me awake enough to not slip into the lake. I had a PFD and waders on and I wouldn't drown, but it still wasn't something I wanted to try.
The next morning I got up and made a pile of eggs for breakfast. I noticed a lot of activity, and all morning long people kept coming in to be a part of the Piney River Ranch's Last Day. It would have been nice to be more a part of the ... celebration? wake?, but whenever I tried to speak it just made me cough, so I stayed away. I did go back out on the lake though, and it was even prettier than it had been the night before. There was this giant slash of yellow streaking up the side of the mountains, with the aspens at the peak of their color. I caught a couple of fish, and missed a few more, but ended up putting the rod aside to store as many mental images of this place into my brain's Read Only Memory for future retrieval.
There was live band, playing original music and some covers. I rowed over closer for listen, and the next song they played was "Take Me Home Country Road" by John Denver. This is a great song, and his most played tune on streaming services, but I was kinda hoping for Rocky Mountain High. Given the setting, it seemed like a no brainer. Had there ever been a more appropriate setting for that song that where we all were right now, saying goodbye to place we all loved so dearly? A place we were all celebrating in our own way, as well as saying goodbye to?
After a few more announcements, and a couple of songs, they did play Rocky Mountain High. The first lyric always gets me, "He was born the summer of his twenty-seventh year, coming home to a place he'd never been before". It describes Denver's personal journey but also mine, though I was twenty-five when I moved to Colorado and "came home" forty years ago. It made me so happy and sad at the same time to be in the middle of Piney Lake for the last time that I noticed tears streaming down my cheeks. They were caused by happiness and sadness and they blended together on my face the way those emotions were mixing in my heart.
Eventually the music and speeches stopped, and the crowds at the ranch began to thin. I reluctantly rowed back to my truck and broke down my little boat. In the distance I could occasionally hear a voice over a P.A. drifting my way in the breeze. They were auctioning off items from the ranch, for almost everything not nailed down was being sold off. I would like to have been a part of that, but being there would mean talking, and talking would mean coughing. After packing everything up I drove a little closer, and saw people leaving the ranch with odd items that had been up on the walls being carried off to their cars. This drove home the point that it was really happening, Piney River Ranch was going away, one piece at a time. I stopped in just long enough to say goodbye to the wonderful Australian ladies who'd been running the place for as long as I'd been going up there. I kept my distance, but before I could leave the manager asked one of her employees to get something from the office. She came out with a T shirt bearing the message, "GOAT - Piney River Ranch Crew '26 - One Hell Of A Ride - 1989 -2026". The shirts were made for the people who had worked there that last summer, and getting one made me feel like an honorary member of that august body.
What the future hold for Piney Lake is anyone guess. I really hope that it will live on in some way, and not become the private playground of some wealthy one percenter. I've made many small memories up there for myself, hope that others will be able to as well. But until then, I'll never forget sitting out in the middle of the lake under a full moon surrounded by one of Colorado's most spectacular landscapes. Its a special place that everyone should be able to experience at least once.
Jack Bombardier
October 2026
On TikTok as JackBombardier
This is what I wrote about fishing at Piney a few years ago..
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