07/16/2026
Here is the next installment of my series called Small Towns and Out Of The Way Places.
This is the South Platte River upstream from Deckers about one mile. The photos were taken in 1906 and 2018.
Creators note: That is my beloved 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 in The modern photo. That bike took me many miles around the state to take many of the pictures that I present on this page.
The segment of the South Platte River located just above Deckers was a seasonal lifeline for Native tribes. It evolved into a 19th-century tourism corridor and is now celebrated globally as a premier "Gold Medal" fly-fishing destination.
The Upper South Platte flows out of South Park, through the Pike-San Isabel National Forest. The section directly above Deckers drops out of Cheesman Reservoir, tumbling 6 miles through Cheesman Canyon before flattening slightly as it enters the hamlet of Deckers.
Long before European expansion, the native Arapaho people relied heavily on the South Platte watershed, naming the river Niinéniiniicíihéhe. In its natural state, the river often flooded in the spring but was dry by the end of summer. It served as a critical oasis for tribes and early travelers. Early Spanish explorers mapped it as Rio Chato ("calm river"), while French fur trappers later dubbed it the "Platte" (meaning flat water).
The discovery of gold in Denver in 1858 triggered a massive influx of settlers. By the late 19th century, the canyons above and below Deckers became vital corridors for for getting vital resources to Denver.
In the 1890s, a settler named Stephen Decker built a general store, a saloon, and a mineral springs resort in an area he originally called "Daffodil".
The biggest turning point for the river canyon above Deckers was the construction of Cheesman Dam. Completed in 1905 by Denver Water pioneer Walter S. Cheesman, the 221-foot stone-masonry structure was the tallest dam in the world at the time of its completion. The dam altered the river's historical "flood or dry" cycle. By storing spring runoff and releasing cold, nutrient-rich bottom-water year-round, the dam accidentally created ideal, stable conditions for a world-class trout habitat in the canyon below.
By the mid-20th century, the canyon above Deckers transformed from a tourist resort area into a legendary proving ground for American fly fishing. The combination of heavy insect hatches and cold water bred wild, highly selective, and exceptionally strong trout. Because the trout in Cheesman Canyon and Deckers were notoriously difficult to fool, local anglers invented several of the most famous trout flies in history here. The modern history of the river above Deckers is defined by its resilience against natural disasters.
In June 2002, the catastrophic Hayman Fire scorched nearly 138,000 acres of the surrounding forest. The loss of vegetation created a highly unstable landscape. Subsequent flash floods washed tons of ash, and silt into Cheesman Canyon and Deckers, choking out insect populations and causing massive fish die-offs.
Extensive river restoration efforts over the next two decades successfully flushed out the sediment. Today, massive spring caddis fly hatches have revitalized the ecosystem, restoring this section of the South Platte to its status as one of the ⅚most productive and heavily frequented public fly-fishing waters in the United States.
Original Photo provided courtesy Denver Public Library Digital Collection
Colorado Then and Now Photographs History Colorado Jefferson County CO Historical Commission Conifer Historical Society Jefferson County Colorado Government
