Sylvan Lake State Park is a
Colorado state park
The system of state parks in Colorado integrates outdoor recreation with tourism. There are currently forty-two parks open to the public, and there is one in development. Colorado State Parks host over eleven million visitors each year. Colorado ...
located in
Eagle County, south of
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...
. The park established in 1987 and surrounded by the
White River National Forest
White River National Forest is a National Forest in northwest Colorado. It is named after the White River that passes through its northern section. It is the most visited National Forest in the United States, primarily from users of the twelv ...
includes a lake and of trails. Facilities include a visitors center, boat ramp, campsites, cabins,
yurt
A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia ...
s and picnic sites.
[ Plant communities include aspen groves, ]lodgepole pine
''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpin ...
and Douglas fir forests on moist slopes. Ponderosa pine
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...
and juniper are found on drier slopes. Wetland and riparian areas exist near the reservoir and creek. Common wildlife includes black bear, elk, mule deer, pine marten
The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
and beaver.
References
{{authority control
State parks of Colorado
Protected areas of Eagle County, Colorado
Protected areas established in 1987
1987 establishments in Colorado