Cottonwood Lake, Colorado - Altitude 9,552 Feet

Cottonwood Lake is located inside South Cottonwood Canyon in the San Isabel National Forest, approximately eight miles west of Buena Vista, Colorado.

Standing at 9,552 feet in altitude, the lake and its surrounding area offer a multitude of outdoor activities including fishing, camping, kayaking, hiking and 4-wheeling in the summer, and snowmobiling, cross-county skiing, ice skating and ice fishing in the winter.

The trailheads to many nearby Colorado "fourteeners" are within a short driving distance from Cottonwood Lake. Below is a photo gallery of the area that is updated regularly.

Cottonwood Lake Video - November 2008 (By Steve Garufi, Buena Vista, CO) On the morning after Thanksgiving 2008, I drove to Cottonwood Lake to capture pictures of the newly fallen snow in the mountains. Not only did I snap photos, but I created the video clip above. Enjoy it! ... View Photo Gallery Page

Summer Camping At The Lake (By Megan K. in Austin, Texas) Minivans, while completely un-sexy, have an amazing ability to carry untold numbers of people, dogs and all their accompanying "stuff." Last summer (2007) my dog rescue friend Debi, her four school age kids and three medium to large breed dogs in addition to myself and my two German Shepherds all piled into her light blue minivan and traveled from Austin, Texas to spend a fabulous week at Cottonwood Lake ... Read Entire Article

Cottonwood Lake - November 2005

Cottonwood Lake - August 2006

Lake Frozen Over - February 2006

Autumn's Colorful Foliage - September 2007 Fall Foliage Gallery