“Big Dig” Planned for Frisco Bay Marina

The town of Frisco in Colorado hopes to begin work soon on a new master plan that will make improvements to its marina and lengthen the lake’s boating season.

Located on Dillon Reservoir/Lake Dillon in Summit County, Frisco Bay Marina sits 9,000 feet above sea level. The water in the lake is supplied by snow melt from the mountains.

“Every year the municipality that owns the reservoir drops it 12 to 15 feet just to make room for melting snow,” said Tom Hogeman, marina manager. But in years where there is a lack of that mountain snow, the lake levels get so low that it’s difficult for boats to navigate. This year, for example, low water levels have prevented the marina from using its fuel dock and kayak launch.

The excavation of 75,000 cubic yards of the lakebed, a project that’s been dubbed the “Big Dig,” will provide navigable waters for a longer period, since it will keep the lake in that area at a deeper depth year-round.

“Summers are short here; we sometimes get snow on Memorial Day and in September,” Hogeman explained. “The marina season typically runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and this project would add a month of being able to use our docks and the boat ramp. That’s big here.”

The increased depth would help meet boater demand. “We are only 75 miles west of Denver, and the marina has become more and more popular,” he added.

The town of Frisco wants to get all the necessary approvals and permitting completed soon so that it can begin the excavation right away. Since the town plans to use traditional earth moving equipment to do the excavation—a more affordable option than dredging — the project managers want to take advantage of the fact that the lake is currently going down.

“It needs to be at least 25 feet low for the excavation, and the projections are for it to be there this winter,” Hogeman said. “We don’t want to miss this window. Lake drops don’t happen every year.”

The marina will retain the 150 seasonal slips and 50 moorings that it has today, but will reconfigure the docks in order to accommodate slightly larger boats (34 feet) than it can today. It will also be adding power to some of the slips.

Frisco Bay Marina will be adding a new marina services building that will contain a new office, retail space, public bathrooms and coded bathrooms for slipholders. A new boathouse will be able to accommodate many of the boats used by rowing club members. The master plan also calls for relocation of the boat ramp, construction of a new launch facility for kayaks, canoes and paddleboards, extension of a pier and the addition of more space to the beach.

“We’ll use a good chunk of the earth that we excavate to improve the shoreline and do some of these other projects,” Hogeman said.