Pearl Lake State Park, State park in Routt County, Colorado, US.
Pearl Lake State Park lies at the base of Farwell Mountain in Routt County, Colorado, north of Steamboat Springs near Hahns Peak Village. Its center is Pearl Lake, a 167-acre (0.68 km2) reservoir at about 2,455 metres elevation, ringed by fir, spruce and pine forest. The park holds 36 campsites and two rental yurts among the trees.
Pearl Lake takes its name from M. Pearl Hartt, wife of sheep rancher John Kelly Hartt, who co-owned the Pioneer, Cow Creek and Yellowstone sheep companies. Cow Creek and Pioneer flocks summered at the spot that is now the lake. After Hartt died in the early 1950s, Pearl sold the land to the U.S. Forest Service, the sale that began the region's shift from agriculture to recreation.
Pearl Lake takes its name from M. Pearl Hartt, wife of sheep rancher John Kelly Hartt, who owned Pioneer, Cow Creek and Yellowstone, three of the largest sheep companies in U.S. history. Cow Creek and Pioneer sheep summered on the ground now covered by the lake. After John died in the early 1950s, Pearl sold the land to the U.S. Forest Service, the sale that turned the district from farming to recreation.
The park has 36 campsites among fir, spruce and pine, plus two yurts for rent; trailers and small motor homes are allowed. Boats with gasoline or electric motors may launch but must keep wakeless speeds. Fishing requires a license and is limited to flies and artificial lures, with no bait. Snowfall over 300 inches annually closes roads and facilities in winter, though the park stays open to foot and snowmobile access.
Fishing here is fly-and-lure only: bait is banned, and boats of any motor type must run at wakeless speed on the 167-acre lake. The park takes its name from M. Pearl Hartt, wife of sheep rancher John Kelly Hartt, who sold the land to the U.S. Forest Service after his death in the early 1950s.
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