Self Guided Fishing Pack Trip

Self guided fishing is available on all of our high country pack trips.  For information on amenities provided on our pack trips, navigate to our pack trip pages.  For information on the waters that we fish, navigate to the guided fishing page.

Basecamp Pack Trips

Our pack trips are simply the finest horseback adventures anywhere. We travel into one of the most spectacular areas of the Western United States, deep in the Weminuche Wilderness of the San Juan Mountains. This area was heavily glaciated and the valleys are textbook geologic featuring meandering streams through enormous valleys with hanging waterfalls on the valley walls, great expanses of exposed granite and huge moraines.

Packing Service

If you have a place to go and need to get your equipment there, Over the Hill Outfitters can help. We can transport your camp and climbing gear so that you can spend more time peak-bagging and less time hauling your supplies in and out of the mountains. We can get you and your equipment to the top of the Continental Divide so that you can enjoy an extended trek. If you’re planning a scientific or photographic expedition, we can safely move your equipment and camps to remote locations. The possibilities are endless. Just ask and we can arrange to transport almost anything. The cost for our packing service is based on the weight and bulk of the gear and the number of animals needed to carry it in addition to the number of wranglers and their horses needed to get the job done.

CAMPS

Lower Park Camp
Lower Park CampOver the Hill Outfitters Camp at Lower Park
sits at 10,500’ in a beautiful meadow in the glaciated canyon of the Florida River. Our full service camps are equipped with wall tents, cots and pads. Our cook tent has a woodstove with an oven where we bake biscuits and even pies! We believe that food is as important as the wilderness experience and we know you’ll enjoy our delicious meals. Fifteen minutes upstream from camp is City Reservoir, built in the late 1800’s by the city of Durango to store water. Today, it no longer is used by Durango, but instead provides some of the best lake fishing in the San Juans. The fish are not always big, but they are lively! Less than a mile downstream, the canyon boxes off and is unpassable. You can feel the presence of bear and elk in the air as you wander through this true wilderness.

The list of activities to do is endless. Among our favorites is a ride to one of many high mountain ridges, enjoying incredible views, wildflowers, and of course, elk. Chicago Basin is one of the most sought out destinations in the San Juans but one of the most crowded. We ride horses to the rim where we have the most spectacular view of the Basin and the Fourteen thousand foot mountains surrounding it— and you won’t see another person! Trimble Pass is another spot that you will never forget. And if you’re up for it, we can climb to the top of Mount Sheridan for a view that is unmatched.

West Virginia Camp
West Virginia Camp
is located in the spruce and fir trees at 11,300 ft. This is a true wilderness setting with large cliffs lining the valley that West Virginia Creek winds through. The fishing is fabulous in this native cutthroat stream, a rarity in today’s world of invasive trout species. Virginia Creek is a moderate hike away with predominantly Rainbow Trout in its waterfalls and meanders. We can also fish the clear waters of Emerald Lake and if you are adventurous, Webb Lake which has some very large trout that hardly ever get fished. The views of Pigeon and Turret Peaks and the rest of the Needle Mountains are breathtaking on the way to these high mountain lakes.

Fishing Trip Calender


What are you waiting for? Adventure awaits, Book a Trip with OTHO!