Colorado Parks and Wildlife has purchased property to expand Highline Lake State Park north of Loma and accommodate more visitors.

The 178 acres bordering the west side of the park cost $775,000 and were purchased with money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The land will offer additional areas for day use as well as camping, trails and wildlife habitat.

“The continued increases in visitation over the past few years really pushed our limits on capacity and became a huge issue,” said Alan Martinez, manager of HIghline Lake State Park. “During the summer months, we were closing the park most weekends because we were at capacity. The additional day-use areas and parking on the west side will alleviate some of the pressure we’ve had.”

Martinez said CPW will work on a development plan for the park over the next three months and develop a timeline for when new areas and features will be available.

Martinez said a phased approach is planned in adding a number of additional campsites to the west side and possibly a couple of yurts. 

The existing 38-site campground at the park is booked every weekend from mid-March through the end of October, so additional campsites will provide more space.

The park also will extend a trail system popular with mountain bikers, work on wetland improvements and allocate 38 acres for wildlife habitat and food plots that will provide structural cover in addition to food for quail and pheasants.