Castlewood Canyon State Park Marks the Anniversary of the Dam Failure

FRANKTOWN, Colo. - Imagine Cherry Creek along Speer Boulevard in Denver overflowing with a raging torrent of white water. That's what it was like 79 years ago when the Castlewood Dam failed. The maelstrom of water flowed into downtown Denver, flooding the city with up to four feet of water. The ruins of the dam are located within Castlewood Canyon State Park, which will commemorate the 1933 historical event on Saturday, Aug. 4 at the park's visitor center.

What remains of the stone dam is located in the heart of Castlewood Canyon State Park, which was created in 1964, long after the flood. The park is located five miles south of Franktown on Highway 83 (Parker Road).

On Aug. 4, Castlewood Canyon State Park volunteer naturalists will portray some of the interesting characters that were significant to the building and failure of the dam. The kids can have their faces painted, build candy dams and act in a re-enactment of the night the dam failed. The activities are scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For history buffs, the volunteers will have stories and images of the devastation in Denver. For those that are interested in geology, a few of these images will tell a story of the erosion that has happened after the dam failed - 20 to 30 feet in the past 79 years.

Present day Castlewood Dam looking south from Rim Rock Trail.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife was created by the merger of Colorado State Parks and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, two nationally recognized leaders in conservation, outdoor recreation and wildlife management. Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages 42 state parks, all of Colorado's wildlife, more than 300 state wildlife areas and a host of recreational programs. To learn more about Colorado's state parks, please see: http://parks.state.co.us. To learn more about Colorado's wildlife programs, please see: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

Contact:
Susan Permut, 303-688-5242 ext. 4373, castlewood.goco@state.co.us
Deb Frazier, 303-866-3203 ext. 4342, deb.frazier@state.co.us