It is officially “Know Before You Go” season.
We’re literally in off-the-charts territory for historic challenges to your recreational plans across Colorado. Region after region reports average temperatures higher than anything in their records, and stream flows lower than anything their river gauges have seen.
As fires rage and drought withers all types of water activity, the list of recreational closures across Colorado is growing daily, alongside the July heat. A well-planned trip can ease the stress and disappointment of closures and, we can hope, the workloads of local rescue teams.
To put this year’s scorching days in perspective, Denver Water is citing readings from three metro-area thermometers it tracks, with an average daily high temperature of 67 degrees for the first six months of 2026. That compares with an average in recent decades of 62 degrees.
In asking people to do better on lawn watering restrictions, Denver Water also cited 9News meteorologist Chris Bianchi’s stat that the overall average statewide temperature has been 46.2 degrees so far this year, more than a full degree above normal and the highest on record.
On July 16, whole new swaths of popular Western rivers were cut off from fishing, so here’s the latest, followed by updated lists of other closures. High water temperatures and low flows restrict fish movement and hiding places, and stresses their recovery ability in catch-and-release angling.
“These fish need relief from the high temperatures they are experiencing,” CPW aquatic biologist Estevan Vigil said.
(“Voluntary” is Colorado Parks and Wildlife parlance for self-policing, asking anglers to do the right thing on their own. If conditions worsen, they will move to “mandatory” closures, meaning consequences for violations.)
Colorado River
A full-day voluntary closure is in effect from Red Dirt Creek downstream to the Highway 13 bridge in Rifle. Water temperatures consistently exceed 71 degrees, and flows remain critically low.
Eagle River
A full-day voluntary closure is in effect from Lake Creek in Edwards downstream to the Colorado River confluence. Daily temperatures are peaking at 77 degrees in Gypsum and 74.5 degrees in Wolcott.
Crystal River
A full-day voluntary closure is in effect from mile marker 64 on Highway 133 downstream to the Roaring Fork confluence. Flows are declining rapidly and are expected to drop to a level at which fish movement is limited in the near future. Crystal River flows are currently less than 10% of average for this time of year.
Roaring Fork River
A daily afternoon voluntary closure is in effect from noon to midnight from the Highway 133 bridge in Carbondale to the Colorado River confluence. High afternoon temperatures and heavy angling pressure are isolated to this lower stretch. Upper sections remain cooler, allowing fish to recover overnight.
Also this week, the state called for voluntary afternoon fishing closures in southern Colorado:
Rio Grande
New restrictions include the Rio Grande from Rio Grande Reservoir Dam to the Rio Grande Canal at the terminus of the Gold Medal section of the river. On the South Fork of the Rio Grande, the closure is from Big Meadows Reservoir Dam to the confluence of the main stem of the Rio Grande. The closures started July 15, noon to midnight every day “until further notice.”
Other recent voluntary fishing closures include:
The Animas River through Durango.
The San Juan River through Pagosa Springs.
The Dolores River below McPhee Dam.
These voluntary fishing closures are in effect immediately as of Monday, July 13, 2026 and will remain in place daily from noon to midnight.
- A voluntary afternoon fishing closure on the Conejos River from below Platoro Reservoir
- A voluntary fishing closure on the Yampa River below Stagecoach and from Chuck Lewis State Wildlife Area to the western edge of Steamboat Springs
Fires also raging against recreation plans
There is not a corner of the state without restrictions on fire. And those restrictions are expanding in both number and intensity as many communities and regions spanning hundreds of thousands of acres impose red flag warnings and Stage 2 prohibitions that pretty much ban any and all outdoor flames.
This story previously appeared in the Colorado Sun.
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