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Explore historic Fremont Butte
Akron Pond up and running just in time for warmer weather
The weather is warming up and the Town of Akron has created the per fect spot for outdoor recreation.
The newly renovated Akron Fishing Pond is up and running, just in time for spring and summer fishing and relaxing. Located south of Akron on Highway 63, just west of the Washington County Golf Course, the new pond has been a project almost seven years in the making.
In May 2014, the initial survey was completed and the preliminary design was star ted by engineer Kyle Dorrenbacher, an Akron resident. Over the course of the next several years, the town received over $400,000 in grant funding from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), then began holding local fundraisers and in August 2018, conducted fish races at the fair and held a benefit dinner.
Environmental engineering work happened in 2019, along with the construction of duck boxes by local Eagle Scouts.
Despite a year of COVID, things really star ted to take shape in 2020. In January, the town began working with graduate students at the University of Colorado in Denver as part of the University Technical Assistance Program of fered by DOLA. Construction contracts were awarded in February. With much of the world shut down in May, equipment moved in and fence closed the pond to the public to begin construction.
Liner in the new pond was completed in July 2020 and water star ted filling the pond in August. In November, Washington County contributed $30,000 in Conser vation Trust Fund dollars to be used for the new pond. Three solar aerators were added in November, and the pond was finally full.
The Akron Pond Revitalization Project has been completed within
Filling the Akron Pond after a renovation project took nearly three months from start to finish. (Photo courtesy Town of Akron) initial budgeted expectations. With grants and town funds, the amount paid is over $423,000 for the project to date. Additionally, there were over $100,000 in-kind donations for engineering ser vices, excavation and other por tions of the plan, which played a key par t in completing the project. Future improvements include restroom facilities, a floating dock for the nor theast point of entr y, a natural playground for youth, additional signage by local Eagle Scouts and picnic area improvements.
Parking is available on the east end of the pond, away from the newly planted grass, and the town is installing por table restroom facilities around the pond.
Signage with rules is posted at the pond. Individuals are encouraged to familiarize themselves with them to ensure the pond stays in good condition. Road access has been shut off to the west side of the pond (old area) for the time being, but it is still available to foot traf fic and open to hike around. The town is currently working with University of Colora-
Colorado Parks and Wildlife stocked the Akron Pond with 48 redear sunfish last October to establish a feeding base. (Photo courtesy Town of Akron)
do at Denver graduate students on recreational development options for that area. Additions such as picnicking oppor tunities, outdoor recreation like horseshoe pits and a natural play area for youth are on the goal list to complete by the end of the year.
Last October, Colorado Parks and Wildlife stocked 48 redear sunfish, collected from another body of water in nor theastern Colorado, to establish a feeding base for future fish. As fish become available, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Wray, Pueblo and Las Animas Hatcheries will stock fish in Akron Pond between May and August 2021, but it will be a few years before the hatcher y-stocked fish are large enough to catch.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife plans to salvage redear sunfish and smallmouth bass from other waters and stock those in Akron Pond beginning in May 2021 to provide angling oppor tunities in the interim. Some of these fish will be large enough to catch, and some smallmouth bass may even meet the minimum size limit of 15 inches. The public is welcome to fish the pond anytime, but keep in mind that it takes time to build a quality fishery, so catch rates may be low for some time until the stocked fish have a chance to grow. If the right stocking strategy is used and fish are given time to grow, fishing should be great for years to come.
Per state of Colorado rules, anyone 16 years and older is required to have a valid fishing license. Those can be obtained from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s website. Gas-powered boats are not permitted on the pond, but canoes and kayaks are allowed – lifejackets are mandatory when on the water. If in boats, please be respectful of fishermen. No swimming is allowed in the pond, and any overnight stays require a permit from the Akron Town Hall.
Town of ficials urge people to use caution walking on the riprap used to protect the shoreline. Some does have exposed rebar, so entering the water from anywhere other than the entry points is discouraged.
The project has been a long time in the making, and dreams and visions are finally a reality. The Town of Akron invites ever yone to the pond to begin making memories to last a lifetime.
Washington County • Akron, Otis Explore historic Fremont Butte
You’ll need permission in advance; the butte is on private land
By Brittany Anas
Back in the late 1940s, small country schools would celebrate the end of the school year with a picnic at Fremont Butte, recalls Jim Brandon, who grew up in Akron. He first learned about the historic butte when he was young; but unfor tunately the day his school was scheduled to go, there was a rainstorm that cancelled the picnic.
About 50 years later, Fremont Butte — which is 7 miles nor thwest of Akron — was for sale.
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Fremont Butte, located 7 miles northwest of Akron on privately-owned land, draws stargazers, hikers, photographers and even families celebrating special events. (Mack Hitch / plants-animals-northeast-colorado.com)
Brandon, who is a former Colorado state senator, purchased the site. While the butte is on private land, it’s open to the public for hiking and exploring.
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“We want the community to be able to enjoy it,” Brandon says.
Should you plan on visiting, though, you will need to plan ahead: Prior permission is required to access the site. To get permission for your visit, contact Jim Brandon at (303) 668-8550.
Over the years, people have enjoyed Fremont Butte in a number of ways, from Easter sunrise church ser vices to a family that visits each Christmas and flies kites. Stargazers have come to enjoy the dark skies and clear views of the Milky Way, and Fremont Butte is also a draw for photographers. A short trail on the south side of the butte leads you to the top. Sightseers also like to check out what looks like a chair formation that’s 1/4 mile nor thwest of the butte, Brandon says.
Among the creatures that call the butte home are rattlesnakes, elk, antelope, deer, coyotes, badgers, porcupines and more. There’s also 19 species of grass that grows in the area, Brandon says.
The area is rich in history and legends, as well. About 20 years ago, archaeologists from Colorado State University sur veyed the area and discovered a piece of potter y estimated to be 2,000 years old,
A formation located northwest of Fremont Butte is reminiscent of a chair, according to property owner Jim Brandon. (Mack Hitch / plants-animals-northeast-colorado.com)
Brandon says.
Also, according to a 1974 publication “Colorado Prairie Tales” by Hildred Walters that’s referenced in a historical column in The Denver Post, legend has it that in the mid-1800s, a group of men escaped Cheyenne or Arapaho Indians, and they took refuge on the butte. It’s possible the men were soldiers on a scouting expedition and were accompanied by Pawnee Indian guides. After taking refuge on the butte, they were trapped there and shot at the natives who tried to scale the butte.
Interestingly, the Fremont Butte area was hit by a meteorite. In 1963, a meteorite that weighed 6.6 kilograms, or 14.5 pounds, was found near the butte. The discover y of the meteorite came to the attention of scientists after a practical joke.
W.R. Bar ton, who was working in the yard of his farm, stumbled upon what he thought to be an ugly, rusty-colored rock. To play a joke on his wife, he placed the stone in her rock garden. Mrs. Bar ton noticed the rock and believed it to look like the meteorites that she had seen featured in newspapers, so she mailed off a sample to scientists for confirmation.
Suf fice it to say, Fremont Butte is a treasure for history buf fs and hikers, as well as astronomy enthusiasts and nature lovers.
