Outdoors and wildfire - Mountains
The Dream Stream below Spinney is Gold Medal water with strict rules
The South Platte between Spinney Mountain and Eleven Mile reservoirs — the 'Dream Stream' in the Charlie Meyers State Wildlife Area — is Gold Medal, flies-and-lures, catch-and-release water with specific rules.
Published June 10, 2026 - Last verified June 11, 2026
Between two of Park County’s big reservoirs, Spinney Mountain and Eleven Mile, the South Platte River runs through open grassland. Anglers call this stretch the “Dream Stream,” and it sits within a State Wildlife Area named for Charlie Meyers, a longtime outdoor writer. It is one of the better-known trout streams in Colorado.
This is special-rules water, not general fishing water. The state designates some of its best trout waters as Gold Medal, and this stretch and nearby Spinney are part of that group. On the Gold Medal water here, fishing is flies and lures only — nothing with scent or taste — and on parts of the river the fish must be released alive. The exact boundaries and rules differ by segment and can change from year to year.
There is also an access detail people miss. This is a State Wildlife Area, not a state park or ordinary public land. To fish or visit, anyone 16 or older needs a fishing license or a separate SWA pass. A general parks pass is not the same thing.
So before you fish the Dream Stream, confirm the current Gold Medal boundaries, the gear and catch-and-release rules, and what license or pass you need with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.