The South Platte River is marked with several dams. The first notable water impoundment on the South Platte is Antero Reservoir, derived from the Spanish word “first”, as it was the first dam on the South Platte River near the river's origin in South Park, Colorado.

The next dam is Spinney Mountain Reservoir. At capacity Spinney Mountain covers 54,000 acre feet. A bottom release dam, Spinney releases to the east of the inlet, draining into the Dream Stream.

Two miles below Spinney Mountain Reservoir, the river enters Eleven Mile Reservoir, with a capacity of 97,000 acre feet. The Eleven Mile Reservoir Dam drains into Eleven Mile Canyon, which runs through Forest Service land.

From Eleven Mile Canyon, the South Platte runs northeast to Cheesman Reservoir, named for Denver water pioneer Walter S. Cheesman. At its completion in 1905, the dam was the world’s tallest, at 221 feet above the stream bed. Chessman Reservoir has been designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Six miles below Cheesman Reservoir is the town of Deckers where the river bends north for approximately 17 miles (27 km) to the confluence with the North Fork of the South Platte.