Governor Jared Polis joined Colorado Parks and Wildlife, local leaders and Colorado Springs Utilities on Friday, October 23, 2026, to break ground on a new outdoor recreation space at Rosemont Reservoir in Teller County, a site tucked into the Pikes Peak region that has for years been limited mostly to seasonal fishing access.
The groundbreaking marks a major shift for the reservoir, which sits about 12 miles southwest of Colorado Springs along Gold Camp Road, according to Colorado Springs Utilities. A post on Governor Jared Polis's verified Facebook account indicated that he joined the ceremony. The governor's office has discussed expanding recreational opportunities for Coloradans. The project is in the Pikes Peak region and involves Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado Springs Utilities.
Once complete, the recreation area is expected to feature 35 primitive campsites, five tent campsites, a boat ramp, vault toilets, a day-use area, a pavilion and a scenic overlook, according to an announcement from the Office of Governor Jared Polis. The governor's office says visitors could be camping, paddling and picnicking at the site as early as 2027, though that timeline remains conditional.
A Watershed Balancing Act
The project is being built through a partnership between Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado Springs Utilities, the governor's office noted, with officials framing the expansion as a way to open up carefully managed recreation while still protecting the watershed and reservoir infrastructure that serves utility customers. Colorado Springs Utilities describes the planned amenities similarly, saying expanded recreation will include basic campsites, managed overnight camping and recreational boating opportunities for hand-launched, hand-powered watercraft.
That dual mission explains why some restrictions aren't going away even as the site opens up. Colorado Springs Utilities says swimming and wading will remain prohibited because Rosemont continues to function as a storage reservoir. For now, Colorado Parks and Wildlife still requires most visitors age 16 or older to carry a valid hunting or fishing license or a state wildlife area pass to access the grounds, and the agency currently lists vessels as prohibited except for float tubes used for fishing.
From Fishing-Only Access to a Full Recreation Area
Rosemont has operated as a state wildlife area since 2007, according to the Gazette's Pikes Peak Courier, which reported that seasonal fishing had been the only permitted recreation at the site before this expansion. Colorado Springs Utilities says the reservoir became part of its local water system in 1973, while the Pikes Peak Courier reported that the reservoir was built by The Broadmoor hotel in the 1920s and has been owned by the utility since 1973.
The push toward public access didn't happen overnight. Back in February, KRDO reported that Colorado Springs City Council had approved the expansion of recreation at the site, with planning documents at the time pointing to a possible opening by July 2026. The Pikes Peak Courier's more recent reporting instead describes a 2027 opening as the operative target following this week's groundbreaking, and the dossier does not explain what shifted the timeline between those two projections.
What's Still Unclear
Several details about the build remain undefined. Neither the governor's office nor Colorado Springs Utilities has released a construction budget, contractor information or a detailed project schedule, and it isn't yet clear whether all of the planned amenities — from the pavilion to the scenic overlook — are already under construction or still moving through design and permitting. For now, Teller County residents and Pikes Peak-area visitors have a groundbreaking and a rough target date to go on, with more specifics expected to follow as the project moves forward.
