by Blaine Howerton | NorthFortyNews.com
Colorado Youth Outdoors unveils one-of-a-kind dock at Swift Ponds, making inclusive outdoor recreation a reality
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A decades-long dream to provide people in wheelchairs the chance to fish with their feet in the water is now a reality, thanks to a new, fully accessible fishing dock unveiled at Colorado Youth Outdoors’ Swift Ponds.
On June 7, during Outdoor Buddies Family Day, participants using wheelchairs cast lines into Bluegill Pond for the first time from a dock designed to sit just below the water’s surface — a vision conceived in 1988 by the late Louis Swift. Located at 4927 East County Road 36 in Fort Collins, the site is believed to feature the nation’s first dock allowing wheelchair users to wade in the water while physically fishing.
Louis Swift, who passed away in 2003, originally developed the idea on his family’s land south of Fort Collins. His early design used a submerged metal I-beam frame to support a deck below the waterline. Though the concept stalled over the years, Swift Ponds was later donated to Colorado Youth Outdoors (CYO) in 2008, aligning with Swift’s wish to preserve the land for youth education.
This year, CYO completed the project with the help of $50,000 in donations and the support of local businesses, including JE Dunn, 1888 Industrial Services, ETC Contracting, Connell Resources, and A-Concrete. A new water control system now allows staff to raise or lower water levels, keeping the dock versatile for multiple uses.
“This is a one-of-a-kind dock Louis Swift envisioned — and now it’s real,” said Luke Brough, CYO’s Northeast Executive Director.
CYO fly-fishing instructor Ken Brink noted the dock is ideal for beginners: “When you’re standing in the middle of a pond, your cast doesn’t have to go far to be successful. And no trees to hook on the back cast!”
For Louis’s family and the community, the project stands as a tribute to inclusion. “This dock is someone listening to those wishes and saying there is a way,” said Larry Sanford, president of Outdoor Buddies, a nonprofit that Louis helped lead.
Learn more about Colorado Youth Outdoors and Swift Ponds at https://coloradoyo.org.
Source: Colorado Youth Outdoors