Arapaho Lakes (James Peak Wilderness)
CPW set nets here in 2023 and caught 5 fish, most of them cutthroat trout. TroutTips researches Cutthroat Trout at this water.
- Elevation
- 10,786 ftCPW survey table
- Approach
- Walk in on a trail
- Last netted
- 2023a single 150-foot gill net fished overnight from a belly boat
- Fish in the net
- 5100% sport fish
- Most caught
- Cutthroat Trout5 fish
- Longest measured
- 14.5″Cutthroat Trout
- County
- GilpinColorado
- Coordinates
- 39.9075, -105.6820Access point TroutTips uses
CPW's catch is from the basin at 10,786 feet. The access point mapped here is 11,154 feet by USGS elevation data, so this cluster holds more than the one basin CPW netted.
What was in the net
| Species | Caught | Share | Mean | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutthroat Trout | 5 | n/a | 11.8″ | 5–14.5″ |
CPW survey summary (PDF) · survey data extracted 2026-10-18
A survey count is not a catch rate. These fish were handled by biologists, not caught by anglers. A species missing from the table was not caught in those nets, which is not the same as absent from the lake. Mesh selects for a size range, and CPW states that Kokanee Salmon in particular are “difficult to capture and monitor with gillnet surveys”.
What CPW has stocked
CPW's stocking record in this report covers the James Peak Wilderness as a whole, not this lake on its own.
| Year | What went in |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
|
| 2022 |
|
| 2020 |
|
How far it is
| From | Drive | By road |
|---|---|---|
| Denver | 3 hr 35 min | 63 miles |
| Fort Collins | 4 hr 10 min | 91 miles |
| Colorado Springs | 4 hr 45 min | 126 miles |
| Pueblo | 5 hr 28 min | 171 miles |
| Steamboat Springs | 5 hr 52 min | 163 miles |
| Grand Junction | 7 hr 8 min | 252 miles |
| Alamosa | 7 hr 25 min | 243 miles |
| Durango | 10 hr 5 min | 360 miles |
Driving times along the road network to the access point TroutTips uses, not straight-line distance.
Fishing it
This page is the survey record: what was in the net, and when. Access, regulations, seasonal timing and what the approach actually involves are in the planner, alongside the drive from your own town.
See Cutthroat Trout outings in Gilpin CountyOther surveyed lakes nearby
By road from Nederland, the town closest to this water.
- Lost Lake (Indian Peaks Wilderness) 49 fish netted 2013
- Crater Lakes (James Peak Wilderness) 100 fish netted 2023
- Blue Lake (Indian Peaks Wilderness) 8 fish netted 2023
- Isabelle Lake (Indian Peaks Wilderness) 8 fish netted 2023