Vallecito Lake (officially Vallecito Reservoir) is a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir on the Pine River in La Plata County, Colorado, about 23 miles northeast of Durango. At full pool it covers 2,720 acres at 7,665 feet and holds 129,700 acre-feet. The dam was dedicated in 1941.

Vallecito Lake at a glance

Fact	Figure	Source & detail
Official name	Vallecito Reservoir Vallecito Lake to nearly everyone who lives here. “Vallecito” is Spanish for “little valley.”	Bureau of Reclamation, Pine River Project The valley under the lake
Elevation at full pool	7,665 feet The surface sits lower than that for much of the year, once the summer drawdown begins.	Bureau of Reclamation, Pine River Project Lake levels
Surface area at full pool	2,720 acres	Bureau of Reclamation, The Pine River Project (project history) The valley under the lake
Maximum depth	120 feet	Colorado Parks & Wildlife Fishing guide
Shoreline	About 12 miles	Colorado Parks & Wildlife Lake map
Storage capacity	129,700 acre-feet (nominal) Managers now fill to an operating pool of roughly 123,500–125,600 acre-feet, about a foot below the spillway gates, so a completely full lake reads about 95–97%.	Pine River Irrigation District, project history What “full” means
How full it is today	A live Bureau of Reclamation reading, refreshed every 15 minutes The lake fills by early July and is drawn down through fall and winter every year, on purpose.	Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado reservoir data (site 933) Today’s lake level
The dam	Vallecito Dam: a zoned earthfill embankment, 162 feet high with a 4,010-foot crest	Bureau of Reclamation, The Pine River Project (project history) The valley under the lake
Dam completed	Built 1938–1941; dedicated September 14, 1941 The reservoir did not fill completely until 1957, sixteen years later.	Bureau of Reclamation, The Pine River Project (project history) Sixteen years to fill
Owner and operator	The Bureau of Reclamation owns the project lands; the Pine River Irrigation District (PRID) operates the reservoir and manages recreation on Reclamation’s behalf The water rights belong to PRID and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.	Pine River Irrigation District, project history PRID permits
What it is for	Irrigation storage: it catches the spring runoff and meters it out across the summer to roughly 54,000 acres of farm and ranch land downstream One-sixth of the water is delivered to Southern Ute lands.	Bureau of Reclamation, Pine River Project A working reservoir
Main inflows	Vallecito Creek, which does most of the filling, and the Los Piños (Pine) River Both peak with snowmelt in late May and early June.	USGS gauges 09352900 and 09352800 Live streamflow
Record high	126,792 acre-feet (97.8%) on July 27, 1957	Bureau of Reclamation daily record since 1941 (site 933) Record high and low
Record low	608 acre-feet on October 24, 1944, in the early years of operation Lowest of the modern era: 14,855 acre-feet (11.5%) on September 7, 2002.	Bureau of Reclamation daily record since 1941 (site 933) Record high and low
Drive from Durango	About 45 minutes (23 miles) Bayfield: about 20 minutes (12 miles). Pagosa Springs: about 1 hour (40 miles). One paved route in, County Road 501.	GoVallecito drive-time table Getting here
Fish species	Seven: kokanee salmon, northern pike, rainbow trout, brown trout, walleye, smallmouth bass and yellow perch Kokanee and rainbow trout are stocked every year by Colorado Parks & Wildlife.	Colorado Parks & Wildlife Fishing guide
Forest Service campgrounds	Six: Graham Creek, Middle Mountain, North Canyon, Pine Point, Pine River and Vallecito Private RV parks around the lake add full hookups.	Recreation.gov, San Juan National Forest Camping guide
Public boat ramp season	May 1 to November 1 One public ramp, managed by PRID. Every trailered or motorized boat is inspected before launch.	Pine River Irrigation District Launching your boat
Water temperature	No public gauge on the lake itself The nearest live reading is the Vallecito Creek inflow at USGS gauge 09352900, updated every 15 minutes. That is creek water entering the lake, not the lake, and the two are not the same in summer.	USGS National Water Information System Vallecito Creek inflow, live

Not listed, because we have no source we can point you to: typical ice-on and ice-off dates.

Figures are full-pool values unless a row says otherwise; the level itself changes every day. Spot an error? Tell us, and see how we verify and correct.

Vallecito Lake facts & figures

Vallecito Lake at a glance