Clear Creek (Dam to Town / Tunnel 1 to Town)
| Stretch: | The Diversion Dam (at Tunnel 1) to Golden Whitewater Park |
| Difficulty: | Class II+ to III |
| Distance: | 2.3 miles |
| Flows: | 250 cfs to +1,500 cfs. USGS Clear Creek near Lawson gauge |
| Gradient: | 77 fpm average |
| Put-in: | Shoulder of US-6 at Diversion Dam, upstream of the first tunnel |
| Take-out: | Golden Whitewater Park |
| Shuttle: | 2.7 miles, (6 minutes one-way) |
| Season: | Spring off snowmelt |
| Written: | © 2021 |
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Colorado Road Trip 2021: Day 14 Afternoon
People put in below the dam for a mellow float down to Golden. The boogie is continuous so don't expect a forgiving float. But the rapids are class III at worst so it is a good place for people not yet ready for Kermits or the Lower.
People typically take out of the Lower above the dam since you are almost certainly portaging it anyways. However, in the future there will be a boat chute which will make just paddling all the way down more common I figure.
I thought the run at 800 was fun. Not high, not low. there were a couple of pretty spots. And it was fun to paddle from Kermits all the way to Golden.
Mi 0.0-0.6:
- Tunnel Boogie (III). The boogie starts off as soon as you launch into the river. No time to warm up. The road enters a tunnel immediately and the river makes a short u-bend. The boogie here is the biggest of the run and tapers off by the time the road rejoins the river side and you see a footbridge over the river.
- Boogie (II). The boogie then gets mellower.
- Optional Take-out: If you don't want to deal with crowds in Golden, you can take out at Grant Terry Park (I assume, I did not use this).
- Golden Whitewater Park (II+ to III). You can take-out at any number of places along the Golden Whitewater Park. I figure park near the library and paddle down through most of the park to get another quality section of rapids
Take-out: In the city of Golden, take Washington Ave south off of CO-58. Go south for 0.3 miles before turning right onto 10th St just before Washington crosses the river. Follow this for up to 0.3 miles to Lions Park, or park near the library further down the whitewater park.
Put-in: From Golden, take US-6 up the Clear Creek canyon. After 1.5 miles you will go through a tunnel. You will then 100 yards later begin a right bend, park in the turn out on the river side of the road. Walk down the shoulder of the road via the small trail to below the dam, and put in below.
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