Abbeyville in Gunnison County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Taylor Park
Gunnison National Forest
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 22, 2025
1. Taylor Park Marker
You are standing at an elevation of 9500 feet above sea level and facing toward the north. The Sawatch Mountain Range and the Continental Divide lie on the horizon. Most of the high mountainous country above timberline lies within the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area in the Gunnison National Forest.
Immediately before you lies the vast expanse of Taylor Park. A park, by this definition, is a large grassy open area or basin, surrounded by mountains. Just over 100 years ago, the Ute Indians hunted deer, elk and buffalo in this park.
Prospectors searching for gold and silver were the first white men to venture into this area. In 1880, James Taylor led a party of miners across the Continental Divide and down into this park which is named for him.
The Taylor River flows through this park, down Taylor Canyon, and finally intersects the Gunnison River. This river was dammed in 1937, creating the Taylor Park Reservoir before you. A cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association was set up to construct this dam and reservoir.
Snowmelt from the surrounding mountains fills this reservoir with water. When the reservoir is full, it contains 2,033 surface acres of water. The stored water is used for irrigating farms and ranches located in the fertile valleys
this page online
Erected by Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Parks & Recreational Areas • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1880.
Location. 38° 49.282′ N, 106° 35.092′ W. Marker is in Abbeyville, Colorado, in Gunnison County. It is on Taylor Canyon Road (County Road 742) 21½ miles east of State Highway 135, on the left when traveling east. The marker is in the Taylor Park Observation Site wayside, near the Lakeview Gunnison Campground. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Almont CO 81210, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Colorado High Rockies. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Also see . . .
1. Frontier in Transition: A History of Southwestern Colorado (National Park Service).
Excerpt: Gold was first discovered in the Tin Cup District of present Gunnison County when in 1860 Jim Taylor, and then in 1861 Fred Lottis, led parties across the Continental Divide from Granite, Colorado, and worked placer gold fields in the region. The settlements found in this exploration were the mining camps in the Elk Mountains and in Taylor Park. Small camps thrived on Texas(Submitted on September 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Creek and Batty Creek in Taylor Park and in Union Park near the head of Taylor Canyon, all working placer gold deposits. Dave Woods, the dominant force of the freighting business in southwestern Colorado during the 1880's, constructed a wagon road over Cottonwood Pass into Taylor Park in 1877 to haul freight from Colorado Springs into that booming region.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 22, 20252. Taylor Park MarkerTaylor Park Observation Site is a scenic site overlooking Taylor Reservoir and the Taylor Park area (to the north), with the majestic Continental Divide in the background. Taylor Park Marina is in the right background.
2. Taylor Park Dam (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: In September 2024, electric cooperative Gunnison County Electric Association commissioned a 500-kilowatt hydro plant at the dam. Called the Taylor River Hydro Project, the plant's single turbine will operate day and night, all year long, without stopping. The plant is expected to produce 3.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. In 2025, it is the largest known single-phase power generator operating in North America.(Submitted on September 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 3, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 242 times since then and 117 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 5, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
