How Did Loveland’s Boyd Lake State Park Get Its Name?

When it comes to outdoor recreation in Colorado, it's hard to beat one of the state's largest reservoirs, Boyd Lake in Loveland. Fishing, boating, camping, hiking, paddle boarding, or just relaxing, it's a great place.

Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland, Colorado - How It Became Named

With Colorado's cold-weather months seeming to last "forever," when the weather breaks and it's time to get outside, it's great that Loveland has Boyd Lake. Sure, it's a state park that costs to enter, but considering Lovelander can't use Lake Loveland, Boyd and Carter Lake come in very handy.

According to the Reporter-Herald, Boyd dates back to 1902, when the son of a homesteader in the area that is now Boyd Lake. That son, Henry Heinricy, along with other men, constructed a ditch that brought water from the Continental Divide to (eventually) the Big Thompson River.

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Heinricy lost his land due to the depression; ditches were used to transfer water from Big Thompson to what is now Boyd Lake. The reservoir changed hands a couple of times before finally being owned by The Greeley & Loveland Irrigation Company.

Greeley owns the right to the water that enters Lake Loveland and Boyd Lake and (to a certain extent) Horseshoe Lake. The state leases part of Boyd as Boyd Lake State Park.

Who Was Boyd When It Comes to Boyd Lake?

The records only really show that, before they even began putting water into Boyd, the state legislature decided to divide the state into water districts. David Boyd was selected to be the first commissioner of the Greeley Water District.

READ MORE: Who is Carter Lake Named After?

So, while there probably wouldn't even be a Boyd Lake State Park without a Loveland man named Heinricy, it's named after a Greeley water commissioner.