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Chatfield Reservoir opened its north boat ramp Thursday, just in the nick of time for the 4th of July holiday weekend.

The partial opening comes three weeks after high water forced boaters onto dry land at Chatfield.

One of the first boaters back on the water received a text message from a ranger telling him about the reopening. “We were last out [in early] June and we’ve been really anxious and been close to the rangers waiting for this day.”

The move is expected to ease some of the monster-sized crowds that have flocked to Cherry Creek Reservoir while Chatfield was closed to boating.

Park rangers predict the reservoirs could each see 100,000 visitors over the holiday weekend.

They’re advising boaters to arrive before 9 a.m. if they don’t want to get caught in long line to launch into the water.