The Arkansas River is a freestone river in Colorado, listed as Gold Medal Water by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
4 USGS gauges on the water report flow. 2 guides nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Basalt, the Roaring Fork & the Fryingpan.
The Arkansas River in downtown Salida, Colorado. Photo: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Arkansas River is a freestone river in Colorado. Our destination hub Basalt, the Roaring Fork & the Fryingpan is 38 mi away in a straight line.
Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.
Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of Arkansas River: gauges, shops and guides
Map of Arkansas River with 4 USGS gauges.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Arkansas River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
Map of 4 restrooms near Arkansas River
Skip the map; every place is in the list belowMap of 4 restrooms near Arkansas River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Gold Medal WaterThe Fryingpan River below Ruedi Dam at the Rocky Fork day-use area. Photo: Klambpatten (with Bureau of Reclamation), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Colorado · about 214 mi
Gold Medal WaterThe Roaring Fork River in Basalt, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gold Medal WaterRepresentative photo · not Gore CreekThe Colorado River and Onahu Creek in the Kawuneeche Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo: KimonBerlin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Gore Creek.
Colorado · about 197 mi
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Eagle RiverThe Taylor River, Gunnison County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Eagle River.
Colorado · about 208 mi
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not John Martin ReservoirNavajo Lake from Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not John Martin Reservoir.
Colorado · about 10 mi
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Douglas ReservoirHenrys Lake from Henrys Lake State Park, Idaho. Photo: James Postema, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Douglas Reservoir.
Colorado · about 57 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.
On the Gold Medal Streams list (Colorado Parks and Wildlife, read 2026-11-05). All waters with this designation
On the Special Regulations: Fishing Waters (trout rules: artificial flies and lures, trout limits) list (Colorado Parks and Wildlife, read 2026-11-05). All waters with this designation
Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.
Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
109.9 of 1,421.4 mi on public land
+19 smaller areas
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
2 guides name it on their website
Cotopaxi, CO · 135 mi
Float trips · Wade trips · Colorado & Arkansas
Names this water
Buena Vista, CO
Float trips · Wade trips · Arkansas River
Names this water
No shop nearby yet.
The hatch and season chart for this water's region.
1 hatch charted for the region, not measured on this water. From Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Green drake (June to July)
Basalt sits where the Fryingpan River joins the Roaring Fork, between Aspen and Glenwood Springs; Ruedi Reservoir is up the Fryingpan, the Roaring Fork meets the Colorado River at Glenwood Springs, and the Eagle River valley lies to the north-east.
Destination hub · 38 mi away in a straight line
A wade-fishing checklist for big western trout rivers: a 9 ft 5–6 weight outfit, nymph, dry and streamer setups, waders, boots and a wading staff, with estimated prices by tier and where to buy.
9′ rod, 5–6 weight, floating line · Rainbow and brown trout, whitefish
Open the checklistSeams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on reading water
Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on nymphing
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Arkansas River.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge ARKANSAS RIVER AT LAS ANIMAS, CO.. Water type is our own classification.
Gold Medal WaterThe Fryingpan River below Ruedi Dam at the Rocky Fork day-use area. Photo: Klambpatten (with Bureau of Reclamation), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Colorado · about 214 mi
Gold Medal WaterThe Roaring Fork River in Basalt, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gold Medal WaterRepresentative photo · not Gore CreekThe Colorado River and Onahu Creek in the Kawuneeche Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo: KimonBerlin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Gore Creek.
Colorado · about 197 mi
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Eagle RiverThe Taylor River, Gunnison County, Colorado. Photo: Jeffrey Beall, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Eagle River.
Colorado · about 208 mi
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not John Martin ReservoirNavajo Lake from Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not John Martin Reservoir.
Colorado · about 10 mi
Featured sport-fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Douglas ReservoirHenrys Lake from Henrys Lake State Park, Idaho. Photo: James Postema, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Douglas Reservoir.
Colorado · about 57 mi
