Coors Falls to Gunshot (West Fork)Class V
1 Miles
Avg Gradient 392 fpm
Max Gradient 392 fpm
Coors Falls
Coors Falls Photo of Barret Burke by Brian Adkins taken 06/03 @ 200 cfs Gauge Information
Clear Creek, West Fork
River DescriptionThis is a great easy-access Class V steep creek located between Berthod Pass and I-70, about 40 minutes from Denver. Although the entire run is paralleled by Hwy 40, the stream bed is tucked away from the road and almost completely natural. In fact once on the water you would be hard pressed to find evidence that a major highway is nearby. Although the run is only 2 miles long, 1st timers should allow 3-4 hours because there is a lot of wood to look out for and scouting and safety can be difficult in parts.This run wastes no time getting going and immediately drops into a mini-gorge with possibly the easiest waterfall in all of Colorado, Coors Falls (15’), at the top. Fortunately two technical ledges immediately below keep it from being a total snooze, the second one should be run in the far left slot. Below Coors Falls you’ll keep real busy the next ¼ mile in hyper-continuous Class IV/V- boulder gardens until you reach a river-wide logjam just above the Z-turn Gorge. Portage around the logjam on the left and scout Z-Turn as best you can, you have to crawl right up to the edge and peek over the 50 foot cliffs boxing in this rapid. This zigzagging little gorge is distinctly steeper at the top and bottom, with a very short lull in the middle. The upper rapid is more technical and difficult to run with out getting turned around backwards at some point. Just downstream from the Z-turn Gorge is I-40 Rapid, the only rapid visible directly from the road. This rapid is the takeout for the short run or the last chance to easily bail if you’re having a bad day, from here to the takeout the creek is a very long and steep scramble from the highway. From I-40 Rapid the manky boulder garden type rapids continue for about a mile until Gun Shot Rapid. This is the hardest drop on the run, and comes up on you very quickly, so exercise extreme caution until you’ve figured out where it is. This rapid got its’ name because the river right side of is private land and the landowner is not above firing a few rounds into the air to get your attention! The scout and portage is best on river right but you can manage without too much trouble on river left. Just downstream from Gun Shot there is a short steep little drop that should be run on the left. From here to the takeout watch out for some river wide logs and dense willows. For pics of the West Fork and many other Colorado classics check out my Webshots photo album. More good pics at www.juliekeller.com To get there: The put-in is located about 3 miles upstream of Empire. Look for the big yellow "Avalanche Zone" signs on the highway. The put-in is located at a dirt pullout near the "End Avalanche Zone" sign. The takeout is tricky to describe. Basically as you're heading back downriver look for the first small dirt road on the right. Head up this road about a mile, after crossing to the river right side of the creek look for another small dirt road off to the right that makes a short little round-about next to the creek. If all else fails just take out at the bridge crossing the creek. StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2004-06-16 18:12:05
|
You’ve followed a link to a topic that doesn’t exist yet.
If permissions allow (as a AW Member, you may edit River Wiki, for example) you may create it by using the “Create This Page Button” below by hovering your mouse over the edit wrench.
If you don’t see a wrench, you don’t have permission to edit or edit is turned off.
If you don’t know what you are doing click on the sandbox and instructions link off the create page link.
WEST FORK CLEAR CREEK ABV MOUTH NR EMPIRE, CO [ CO ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO | Clear Creek, West Fork— Coors Falls to Gunshot | V | 122 cfs | med | 7/25 12:00 | |
| CO | Woods Creek— Reservoir to Confluence with West Fork Clear Creek | V | 122 cfs | low | 7/25 12:00 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 7426 |
| USGS Station: | 06716100 |
| HUC: | 10190004 |
| Latitude: | 39.7589 |
| Longitude: | -105.6594 |
| Class: |
No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. User Comments |
|
2006-02-04 20:52:12 (901 days ago)
Dan Evans
good news first: the empire boating community cleaned the two mandatory wood portages from the run. the first was between triple drop (coors falls), and z gorge. you may have to duck or roll under a couple of trees at higher flow but you shouldn't have to get out of your boat. the second removed log portage was at the top of gunshot. gunshot should now be good to go. as always scout before you commit!<br /><br /><br />
bad news next: last time i went by the take-out described above there was a private property sign on a tree. a new take out is in the works. check back for updates. -dan
|
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
River Alert
State News
River Links
(RSS)
(KML)help
(mobile)
River Info (mobile)