10th Annual Lake Fork Flyathlon
When: September 18th-20th, 2026
Where: Gunnison, CO
Number of Participants: 60
Fishing Difficulty: MODERATE
Running Difficulty: EASY
Course Map and Elevation Profile: ~11 mile out and back course with approximately 500 feet loss / gain.
Registration: Registration is now open. Here is the link.
2026 Lake Fork Flyathlon Race Weekend Information (coming soon)
When: September 18th-20th, 2026
Where: Gunnison, CO
Number of Participants: 60
Fishing Difficulty: MODERATE
Running Difficulty: EASY
Course Map and Elevation Profile: ~11 mile out and back course with approximately 500 feet loss / gain.
Registration: Registration is now open. Here is the link.
2026 Lake Fork Flyathlon Race Weekend Information (coming soon)
The Lake Fork Flyathlon course begins at a BLM field above Gateview Canyon, descends through the Gateview Canyon along the Lake Fork Gunnison River to the Gateview Campground, and then returns back to the field.
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).
This event is a ton of fun, but don’t take our word for it, as the 2017 Lake Fork Flyathlon was documented by the incredible podcast The Dirtbag Diaries. To hear Cordelia Zars’ incredible storytelling, click here.
Or check out this video by a recent Lake Fork flyathlete…
As many of you have experienced over the years, Gunnison weather at this time of year is unpredictable, the fishing is somewhat challenging, and the after-party is bad ass.
Because this race is a fundraising race, we have a required fundraising minimum of $250. Money raised will go towards on-the-ground projects with a native trout focus. If you want to participate and this amount of fundraising is prohibitive, please send us an email with your rationale and we can try to work around it.
As many of you have experienced over the years, Gunnison weather at this time of year is unpredictable, the fishing is somewhat challenging, and the after-party is bad ass.
Because this race is a fundraising race, we have a required fundraising minimum of $250. Money raised will go towards on-the-ground projects with a native trout focus. If you want to participate and this amount of fundraising is prohibitive, please send us an email with your rationale and we can try to work around it.