Pearl Lake State Park, at the base of Hahn's Peak, is in

Routt County, Colorado Routt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 24,829. The county seat is Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Steamboat Springs. Routt County comprises the Steamboat ...

near the town of Hahn's Peak,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and is north of Steamboat Springs. Pearl Lake is named for M. Pearl Hartt, the wife of pioneer sheep rancher, John Kelly Hartt.

History

John Kelly Hartt was a principal owner of three of the largest sheep companies in U.S. history—Pioneer, Cow Creek and Yellowstone. The sheep wintered near

Rawlins, Wyoming Rawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County. It was named for Union General John Aaron Rawlins, who camped in the locality in 1867. Demographics ...

. The Cow Creek and Pioneer sheep summered near Hahn's Peak, Colorado in the place that is now Pearl Lake. John Kelly Hartt died in the early 1950s, eventually resulting in the sale of the land by his wife, Pearl, to the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

. That sale started the event that shifted this region from primarily agricultural to primarily recreational.

Activities

Recreational opportunities in Pearl State Park include camping, boating, fishing and picnicking. There are 36 campsites amongst the forest of fir, spruce and pine. In addition to tent camping, trailers and small motor homes are permitted. The park also has two yurts available for rent. The lake permits boating, including gasoline and electric motors (though boaters are restricted to wakeless speeds). Fishing (license required) is restricted to flies and artificial lures (no bait permitted). During the winter, due to snowfall (over annually), the roads and facilities are closed. However, the park is open for foot and snowmobile access. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice fishing are popular winter activities.

References

Colorado State Parks: Pearl Lake
(official site)
History of Pearl Lake, Colorado
{{authority control State parks of Colorado Protected areas of Routt County, Colorado Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in Colorado