The Grand Ditch is a man-made ditch to carry water from the Never Summer Mountain Range to the eastern plains. This is accomplished by a 16-mile ditch along the eastern flank of the Never Summer Mountains from Green Knoll to Long Draw Reservoir where it is stored until needed, often in late Summer, to water the sugar beets around Ft. Collins. It then flows down the Cache La Poudre River to Ft. Collins.
First completed in 1890, additions were finally completed in 1936. It diverts 20,000 acre feet of water annually to the East. The scars of the 8- to 10-foot wide ditch are visible from Fairview Curve on our Virtual Road Tour, even after more than 100 years. Debris that continues to fill the ditch is cleaned out and thrown over the side to continue the lack of vegetation we see.
This is just one of many such water diversion projects in this area to carry water across the Continental Divide. Another large project, the Alva B. Adams Tunnel, carries water UNDER the Park to Estes Lake in Estes Park.
Our Virtual Hike goes above the tunnel on the way to the Loch. These projects have helped to reduce the flow of water in the Colorado River to the point that it is often below standards for water quality. #
