John Martin Reservoir State Park - Hasty Swim Area

Description: John Martin Reservoir dam overlooking the Hasty swim area, camp area, maintenance access roads, and the Arkansas River, which feeds the reservoir from the otherside.

John Martin Reservoir State Park

Located near Hasty Colorado, John Martin Reservoir is a Southeastern Colorado playground. From boating and fishing to camping and swimming, there are lots of recreational options.

How low can it go? The previous low water level lines can clearly be seen on the rocks of John Martin Dam.

John Martin Reservoir is a State Wildlife area too. This perspective is looking West over the nesting habitat. The size of the nesting area depends on the water level. Notice there are campers on the other side of the habitat area.

Visitors to the reservoir should be responsible and considerate of the local endangered wildlife such as the Least Tern and Piping Plover and avoid their marked nesting areas.

It's a long scenic drive across John Martin Dam.

There's no parking on the dam, however there are 15-minute parking areas on each side, so there is opportunity to enjoy the view. If you visit John Martin Reservoir you owe it to yourself to cross the dam at least once.

On "The Hasty Side" of John Martin Reservoir. You can see that two of the 16 total spillways are open. On this trip we watched them open and close several of the spillways, most likely as part of the required maintenance.

The Hasty Swim Area is for day use only. It is walking distance from the camp sites and has shaded pic nic tables with bbq grills. On this trip there was a red flag warning and fire ban, which is typical for late July in Southeast Colorado.

The Hasty Swim Beach is a great way to beat the Summer heat in Southeast Colorado. 

These dragonflies hovered about the shoreline and paused to perch on floating twigs. Known to be a voracious predator in the insect world, these small dragons prove great fun for the kids to chase, especially for the ones with cameras.

If you are planning on boating at John Martin Reservoir there are extra inspections and precautions required to avoid spreading invasive zebra mussels or incurring large fines.

Maybe boating, hiking, swimming, camping, and fishing aren't "your thing"

Maybe you should try a round of frisbee golf! Yes, there is even a frisbee golf course near the Hasty campsites at John Martin Reservoir State Park.

A State Parks pass is required to use John Martin Reservoir as it is a Colorado state park. One can be obtained at the visitor center, or through the Colorado State Parks and Wildlife Website.

If there is an elementary student in your household ask your local library about the Check Out State Parks backpack, which includes a state parks pass. We were able to check one out from the Woodruff Memorial Library in La Junta and plan on visiting several Colorado State Parks in the SECO region over the next week.

The checklist of items included with the Check Out State Parks is long. Most items are educational pamphlets, which really help identify wild flowers and wildlife. We especially thought the night sky guide was cool.

If you use the Check Out State Parks backpack plan on a week of adventure at our Colorado state parks.

Like the waves rippling across the reservoir, the cattails sway with the breeze at one of Colorado's best state parks.

Make sure to bring your camera because it's the best way to shoot this mule deer as he stands in the John Martin Wildlife area. Notice he looks well fed on corn.

(Photo credit: Abby Hart)

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