Man dies while paddleboarding at Chatfield Reservoir in Littleton
Courtesy, Colorado Parks and Wildlifre
The body of a missing paddleboarder was recovered by crews from Chatfield State Park Monday evening, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said.
According to witnesses, a man and his two children were sharing one paddleboard when a large wind gust knocked them into the reservoir around 4:25 p.m., CPW said.
CPW said nearby paddleboarders witnessed the incident and rescued the two children, however, were not able to pull the man from the water.
According to CPW, CPW park rangers, South Metro and West Metro divers and the CPW Marine Evidence Recovery Team (MERT) officers responded and searched the water for the missing man.
Using sonar and an underwater drone, the MERT officers recovered the victim around 7:15 p.m., noting he was not wearing a life jacket.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a death investigation of the incident. The Jefferson County Coroner will release the victim’s identity.
Life jackets are required to be worn while recreating at Chatfield Reservoir.
The CPW said Chatfield offers a free life jacket from the loaner station for any visitor. Because weather conditions can change quickly at the park with sudden, strong wind gusts, visitors are encouraged to check weather forecasts before heading outdoors.
(Contact Denver Gazette Digital Strategist Jonathan Ingraham at jonathan.ingraham@denvergazette.com or on X at @Skingraham.)
New ‘recreation area’ eyed for North Sand Hills in western Colorado
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 hours ago
It’s not the Great Sand Dunes of great fame and national park status. But a smaller set of sand dunes in northwest Colorado is still known to be “very popular” ー and perhaps in need of new management. That’s the...
Seth Boster
Reporter
New ‘recreation area’ eyed for North Sand Hills in western Colorado
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 hours ago
It’s not the Great Sand Dunes of great fame and national park status. But a smaller set of sand dunes in northwest Colorado is still known to be “very popular” ー and perhaps in need of new management. That’s the...
Seth Boster
Reporter
DU’s Sara Rask wins alpine slalom, leads Pios to top of Denver Invitational standings | Colorado Sunshine
Paul Klee
paul-klee@denvergazette.com
Updated 41 minutes ago
Where good news shines The Denver Pioneers ski team opened its alpine season with a bang. Led by three podium finishes on the women’s side, the host Pioneers led the team standings in the Denver Invitational at Loveland Ski Area...
Paul Klee
Reporter
‘Now we’re moving to action:’ $2.5 million grant set to advance recreation goals on Pikes Peak
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 hours ago
Local and state officials have big ideas for Pikes Peak recreation and conservation. Now there’s money to support those ideas. Many were outlined in a 491-page “vision plan” last year by nonprofit Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance (PPORA), which over...
Seth Boster
Reporter
‘Now we’re moving to action:’ $2.5 million grant set to advance recreation goals on Pikes Peak
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 hours ago
Local and state officials have big ideas for Pikes Peak recreation and conservation. Now there’s money to support those ideas. Many were outlined in a 491-page “vision plan” last year by nonprofit Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance (PPORA), which over...
Seth Boster
Reporter
Colorado Parks and Wildlife opens stakeholder meetings on new semiautomatic firearms training law amid constitutionality debates
Scott Weiser
scott-weiser@denvergazette.com
Updated 1 day ago
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has scheduled a series of virtual and in-person stakeholder meetings beginning Feb. 9, 2026, to explain requirements for a new firearms safety program and gather input from dealers, instructors and sheriffs before the mandate takes effect...
Scott Weiser
Reporter
Snow farming: How some Colorado ski areas combat a dry winter
Seth Boster
seth-boster@denvergazette.com
Updated 2 days ago
When the snow isn’t falling at some Colorado ski areas, the directive is simple. Go find it. “We gotta do what we gotta do,” said Tim Kerrigan, vice president of mountain maintenance at Ski Cooper. And it might sound simple,...
Seth Boster
Reporter
‘No Pain, No Jane’: Winter Park’s Mary Jane opens just in time to celebrate 50th birthday
Kyla Pearce
kyla-pearce@denvergazette.com
Updated 41 minutes ago
Alli Salaman lifted her billowing red velvet skirt to step into her skis at the top of Winter Park Resort’s Super Gauge lift Saturday afternoon. Salaman was one of thousands of people who gathered at Winter Park’s Mary Jane for...
Kyla Pearce
Reporter
Telluride celebrates end to ski patrol strike
RACHAEL WRIGHT Special to The Gazette
rachael-wright-special-to-the-gazette@denvergazette.com
Updated 41 minutes ago
The Telluride Ski Resort and the ski patrol union reached an agreement on Jan. 8, ending the longest ski patrol strike in U.S. history. Details of the agreement weren’t immediately released, and many remained worried about the economic damage to...
PHOTOS: Mary Jane Ski Resort Celebrates 50 Years
Stephen Swofford
stephen-swofford@denvergazette.com
Updated 41 minutes ago
Stephen Swofford
Reporter
PREV
PREVIOUS
Popular Colorado mountain recreation area to see realignment on trails
Starting in early July, visitors to the very popular Brainard Lake Recreation Area west of Boulder, Colorado can expect delays and some safety hazards in place as maintenance crews work to realign and build trails at the Indian Peaks Wilderness location. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Forest Service announced Monday crews will begin several […]
Mighty Argo Cable Car receives 10 gondola towers from a Blackhawk helicopter
Bryan MacFarland, general partner to the Mighty Argo Cable Car scenic gondola project, holds up an artist’s rendering of what the MACC will look like when completed from atop the landing site Thursday, July 10, 2025 at Virginia Canyon Mountain Park in Idaho Springs, Colorado. Jonathan Ingraham/Denver Gazette It was a site, and sound, to […]