Highland Lake: The Quiet Landmark That Came Before the Town of Mead
Most people driving past Highland Lake don't realize it's older than the town itself — or that the lake is the reason Mead exists at all.
By Laura Owen
The 45-Acre Lake That Hardly Anyone Talks About
If you live in Mead long enough, someone will eventually point toward the northern edge of town and mention Highland Lake. It's not big by Colorado reservoir standards — 45 acres, no swimming, no motorboats. But it's one of the most interesting spots in town, and one of the quietest.
What surprises people, including some long-time residents, is how much history is wrapped up in those 45 acres. The lake predates the town. In fact, the lake is part of the reason the town is here at all.
A 150-Year Backstory
Highland Lake was filed on in 1871 by a homesteader named Lorin Cassandre Mead. He had arrived with the Chicago-Colorado Colony — the group that founded Longmont — but by the time he reached Greeley, the best land there had already been claimed. On the ride back toward Longmont, the stage passed a prairie pothole that had once been a buffalo wallow. He filed on the land around it and named the spot Highland Lake, borrowing the name from Sir Walter Scott's poem The Lady of the Lake.
Within a few years, a small farming community grew up around the lake. A one-room schoolhouse opened in 1877. A church followed in 1896 — the Congregational Church of Highlandlake, which still stands today and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. For roughly thirty years, Highlandlake was a real town.
Then the railroad came through in 1906, and it ran a mile and a half southeast of the lake rather than through Highlandlake itself. As happened all over the West, the trains decided where the towns would end up. Lorin Mead's nephew, Paul Martin Mead, platted a new townsite along the railroad in the fall of 1905, and the Town of Mead was chartered on March 17, 1908. By 1920, the Highlandlake school had consolidated into Mead and closed its doors.
Highland Lake is older than the railroad, older than the Town of Mead, and older than most of the surnames you'll see on the mailboxes around town.
What's There Today
The lake sits inside Lorin Mead Park at Highland Lake — a small park the Town of Mead purchased in 2016, along with recreational rights to the water. For a few years after the purchase, the park was mostly a dirt pull-off and a piece of shoreline. That changed in 2022, when Phase 1 of the Highland Lake Master Plan was completed. Phase 1 added:
A proper parking lot and a paved walking path along the shore
Fencing around the park perimeter
Public restrooms
A dedicated fishing pier
The upgrades were funded in large part through a Fishing is Fun grant — a Colorado Parks and Wildlife program that pays for public fishing-access improvements. Per the Town of Mead, the grant came in around $89,625, with the Town covering the remainder.
The Fishing
Highland Lake is a warmwater fishery. It's stocked with crappie, catfish, and bass, and the three species anglers seem to target most often are Northern pike, largemouth bass, and black crappie. Pike in particular are a draw — they aren't common in Front Range reservoirs, and Highland Lake has a quiet reputation among local anglers for holding some surprisingly big ones.
A Colorado fishing license is required for anyone 16 and older, and standard Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulations apply. The Town also hosts an annual Fishing is Fun clinic at the lake, aimed at families and beginners. For the clinic day, kids can fish without a license and gear is provided — a nice way to find out whether the hobby is going to stick before buying rods.
A Few Things to Know Before You Go
Highland Lake is a fishing and wildlife-viewing lake, not a beach. The rules reflect that:
No swimming, paddleboarding, windsurfing, or any other activity that involves getting in the water
Non-motorized boats are allowed, and so are boats with trolling motors — no gas-powered outboards
Dogs are welcome, but they have to be on a leash
The park is open from dawn to dusk, every day of the year
It's the kind of place you go for a quiet morning with a rod and a thermos, not for a busy family day at the beach. If you've lived in Mead for a while and haven't walked the perimeter yet, it's worth a Saturday morning.
Why a Small Lake Still Matters
One of the things I like about living in Mead is that the history is right there if you look for it. Highland Lake isn't just a fishing spot — it's the reason a young homesteader named Lorin Mead stopped moving in 1871, and it's the reason his nephew later platted the townsite that became the Mead most of us now call home. The 2022 renovations turned the lake into a proper public amenity again, which feels fitting. It has been sitting there, quietly, for more than 150 years.
If you're new to the area and getting a feel for what makes Mead, Mead, start at Highland Lake. Bring a rod if you have one. If you don't, the view is reason enough.