Boulder Creek,

04. Eben G Fine Park to CU Greenhouse (Town Run)

Usual Difficulty	II-III (may vary with level)
Length	3 Miles
Avg. Gradient	52 fpm

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
BOULDER CREEK AT NORTH 75TH ST. NEAR BOULDER, CO
usgs-06730200	150 - 800 cfs	II-III	02h16m	8.9 cfs (rc= -0.2 )

River Description

Boulder Creek through Boulder is probably one of the best urban whitewater streams in Colorado. There is a bike path that parallels the entire run, at times it can be difficult to focus on boating with all the eye candy that may be jogging/biking/roller blading down the path;-) Just upstream of the park is a permanent whitewater course that has "OK" play and a notoriously trashy ender hole called Widowmaker. As you head east from the park the rapids will gradually ease off from III to II. When you get to Broadway, make sure to take the right channel under the bridge, the left channel becomes intake for a ditch. In the right channel, directly under the bridge, there is an excellent surf wave. From this point on it will all be class II.

To get there: There are a couple of different spots to put in, and several takeout options. At the put-in you can park in the last block of Arapaho Street, next to the park. Also, on Canyon Blvd there are a couple of large dirt pullouts that are a little closer to the course. Some of the most popular takeouts(e.g. parking lots next to the creek) are at the Public Library, Boulder High School, the Fish Aquarium, Scott Carpenter Park, the CU Greenhouse, and Jose Muldoon's.

See Colorado Rivers and Creeks II, by Banks and Eckardt (The Bible), for info on this and most of the other kewl runs of Colorado.

Lat/longitude coords are approximate, from TopoZone.

The various reaches of Boulder Creek,
Jasper Creek (Class V+/VI),
The Source (Class V),
Upper Boulder Canyon (Class V/V+),
Lower Boulder Canyon (Class IV),
Boulder Town Run (Class II/III),
North Fork Boulder (Class V+/VI),
Alto-Alto (Class IV),
Upper South Boulder (Class V+/VI),
Lower South Boulder (Class IV/V+/VI),
Eldorado Canyon (Class V+).

StreamTeam Status: Not Verified

Last Updated: 2009-02-12 11:39:27

No photos found.

Add a Photo

Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

The AW gauge is located on 75th Steet on the eastern outskirts of Boulder. A more accurate gauge is located in Boulder Canyon and can be found here. If the link doesn't bring up a discharge graph hit "back", and try it again.

Or: When you don't have a computer handy call Watertalk: 303/831-7135 Division 1 Station 9 - Boulder Creek at Orodell.

The lower reaches of Boulder Creek don't run until Barker Reservoir fills up and crests the dam. Expect it to start running in late May or early June, as much as a month after other nearby runs have decent flow.