The most-visited state park in Colorado is about to get even bigger next month, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Lake Pueblo State Park is set to expand by 800 acres with the addition of a wildlife area along the lake’s north shore. The area, previously known as the North Wildlife Area, will be taken over by state park staff on April 1.

The North Wildlife Area is managed by CPW’s Area 11 Wildlife Office as part of the 11,864-acre Lake Pueblo State Wildlife Area.

CPW said the management change was suggested by the public when comments were collected during the required update of the Resource Management Plan for the park and wildlife areas. 

“During the public input process, the public was vocal letting us know they wanted this change,” said Joe Stadterman, park manager. “It’s great to be able to make this happen.”

Stadterman said shifting the area to state park designation reflects the change in how the public has been using the property. He pointed specifically to frequent hiking and biking which is more common in parks than in wildlife areas.

The new park area is located off Nichols Road, extending west to the Turkey Creek drainage.

Visitors will no longer need a hunting or fishing license to access the area; however, they will need a state parks pass.

Stadterman said hunting and fishing will continue in the area, though the area will now host other recreation activities including mountain biking, wildlife watching and walking.

Since the land is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and only leased by CPW, the change in management doesn’t include any restrictions on land use that usually apply to CPW-owned land.

Officials with work in the coming months to construct a new entrance to the area off of North Marina Road inside the park, closing the existing entrance off of Nichols Road. Construction is expected during the summer.

The much larger South Wildlife Area will be unaffected by the change in management of the North Wildlife Area.