8th Annual Lake Fork Flyathlon
When: September 20th-22nd, 2024
Where: Near Gunnison, CO
Number of Participants: 60ish
Fishing Difficulty: MODERATE
Running Difficulty: EASY
Course Map and Elevation Profile: 10 mile out and back course. Details about the Lake Fork Flyathlon course can be found here.
Event Description: September is an incredible time to be out in the woods of Colorado, as the trees are changing, the temperatures are downright pleasant, and the fly fishing is outstanding! All of this September greatness is featured prominently in the Lake Fork Flyathlon, held every September near Gunnison, CO on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison is an incredible sport fishery (as summarized adeptly in the Spring 2018 edition of Southwest Fly Fishing magazine), and one of the most productive and beautiful segments of this river is the final 5 miles that run through the spectacular Gateview Canyon.
During the Lake Fork Flyathlon, our flyathletes run out-and-back along these very gradual, super-fishy 5 miles of river, for a total of 10 miles. The river features large rainbow and brown trout, with the occasional kokanee salmon thrown in just to make it interesting. Following the race, our participants reconvene for an incredible catered dinner, fine Colorado craft beer and whiskey, and fish stories told around multiple campfires. Our top flyathletes from the day (Top Male and Female, Biggest and Smallest Fish) will compete for a custom fly rod in our leisure-sport-tournament-of-champions (corn hole followed by a BB rifle shootout).
Race Weekend Materials
Directions
The full festivities begin Friday evening a quarter mile south of the Red Bridge Campground in a BLM field off of County Road 25. This is a different campground from several years ago, so please pay attention! If you type “Red Bridge Campground, Blue Mesa Road, Powderhorn, CO” into Google Maps, that’ll get you awful close. There will be a few bright orange signs to guide you in, so keep an eye out for them. The good news is that we will start / finish the race from our camping area! That means if you are camping, you’ll get to sleep in (sort of) and won’t need to drive all weekend.
Schedule
Friday, September 22nd, 2023
Beaver Dam Analog (BDA) Volunteer Project- Join us the day before the Lake Fork Flyathlon for a BLM volunteer project in Road Beaver Creek constructing man-made structures designed to mimic the form and function of a natural beaver dam. More details forthcoming, but if you want to play and hands-on role in Colorado River cutthroat trout conservation, please send us an email!
For those who cannot volunteer, please plan on arriving at the BLM field (see directions above) around 4 pm on September 22nd! On Friday evening, we will set up tents / trailers in a field (spaces are first come – first served), play cornhole, sit by the fire (assuming there is no active fire ban), and drink whatever beers everyone brings to share, and maybe tap a keg or two. This is an informal bottle share, so find someone who looks like they want to share…. Please bring a cup from one of the last Flyathlons, but if you forget, we will have plenty of recyclable Ball aluminum cups for you to use.
For those of you who are nervous about the fishing component of the Flyathlon, we will have several experienced folks on hand to talk you through and demonstrate fishing techniques and flies that are likely to be successful in the Lake Fork of the Gunnison.
Saturday, September 23rd, 2023
Race morning, those camping can sleep in a bit, but should be ready to go for a 9:00 am start. Most of you will be sleeping at the start / finish line, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. That means that we will want you ready to go at 8:30 am for pre-race briefings and long-winded speaking.
At 9:00 am, the race will begin. Runners will have 6 hours to complete the course.
Somewhere around 4:00 pm we will have a delicious dinner (catered by Jake and Telly’s from Colorado Springs). After we are finished with dinner, we will start our awards ceremony followed by the leisure sports Olympics grand championship tournament, live music, open mic, and plenty of delicious beers / whiskey!
Sunday, September 24th, 2023
Party is over. Please pack up your tents and your trash and head home. No, wait! You are in a cool part of Colorado that you don’t know all that much about… Please take the day and explore the Curecanti National Recreation Area, or go spend some money in Gunnison or Lake City…
Additional Race Weekend Materials
2023 Lake Fork Flyathlon Safety Plan
2023 Lake Fork Flyathlon Rules
When: September 20th-22nd, 2024
Where: Near Gunnison, CO
Number of Participants: 60ish
Fishing Difficulty: MODERATE
Running Difficulty: EASY
Course Map and Elevation Profile: 10 mile out and back course. Details about the Lake Fork Flyathlon course can be found here.
Event Description: September is an incredible time to be out in the woods of Colorado, as the trees are changing, the temperatures are downright pleasant, and the fly fishing is outstanding! All of this September greatness is featured prominently in the Lake Fork Flyathlon, held every September near Gunnison, CO on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison is an incredible sport fishery (as summarized adeptly in the Spring 2018 edition of Southwest Fly Fishing magazine), and one of the most productive and beautiful segments of this river is the final 5 miles that run through the spectacular Gateview Canyon.
During the Lake Fork Flyathlon, our flyathletes run out-and-back along these very gradual, super-fishy 5 miles of river, for a total of 10 miles. The river features large rainbow and brown trout, with the occasional kokanee salmon thrown in just to make it interesting. Following the race, our participants reconvene for an incredible catered dinner, fine Colorado craft beer and whiskey, and fish stories told around multiple campfires. Our top flyathletes from the day (Top Male and Female, Biggest and Smallest Fish) will compete for a custom fly rod in our leisure-sport-tournament-of-champions (corn hole followed by a BB rifle shootout).
Race Weekend Materials
Directions
The full festivities begin Friday evening a quarter mile south of the Red Bridge Campground in a BLM field off of County Road 25. This is a different campground from several years ago, so please pay attention! If you type “Red Bridge Campground, Blue Mesa Road, Powderhorn, CO” into Google Maps, that’ll get you awful close. There will be a few bright orange signs to guide you in, so keep an eye out for them. The good news is that we will start / finish the race from our camping area! That means if you are camping, you’ll get to sleep in (sort of) and won’t need to drive all weekend.
Schedule
Friday, September 22nd, 2023
Beaver Dam Analog (BDA) Volunteer Project- Join us the day before the Lake Fork Flyathlon for a BLM volunteer project in Road Beaver Creek constructing man-made structures designed to mimic the form and function of a natural beaver dam. More details forthcoming, but if you want to play and hands-on role in Colorado River cutthroat trout conservation, please send us an email!
For those who cannot volunteer, please plan on arriving at the BLM field (see directions above) around 4 pm on September 22nd! On Friday evening, we will set up tents / trailers in a field (spaces are first come – first served), play cornhole, sit by the fire (assuming there is no active fire ban), and drink whatever beers everyone brings to share, and maybe tap a keg or two. This is an informal bottle share, so find someone who looks like they want to share…. Please bring a cup from one of the last Flyathlons, but if you forget, we will have plenty of recyclable Ball aluminum cups for you to use.
For those of you who are nervous about the fishing component of the Flyathlon, we will have several experienced folks on hand to talk you through and demonstrate fishing techniques and flies that are likely to be successful in the Lake Fork of the Gunnison.
Saturday, September 23rd, 2023
Race morning, those camping can sleep in a bit, but should be ready to go for a 9:00 am start. Most of you will be sleeping at the start / finish line, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. That means that we will want you ready to go at 8:30 am for pre-race briefings and long-winded speaking.
At 9:00 am, the race will begin. Runners will have 6 hours to complete the course.
Somewhere around 4:00 pm we will have a delicious dinner (catered by Jake and Telly’s from Colorado Springs). After we are finished with dinner, we will start our awards ceremony followed by the leisure sports Olympics grand championship tournament, live music, open mic, and plenty of delicious beers / whiskey!
Sunday, September 24th, 2023
Party is over. Please pack up your tents and your trash and head home. No, wait! You are in a cool part of Colorado that you don’t know all that much about… Please take the day and explore the Curecanti National Recreation Area, or go spend some money in Gunnison or Lake City…
Additional Race Weekend Materials
2023 Lake Fork Flyathlon Safety Plan
2023 Lake Fork Flyathlon Rules
