Cache La Poudre, N. Fork, CO

North Fork Big Drop

North Fork Big Drop
Photo of Will Reeves taken 2008-06-15 @ 400 cfs

Gauge Information

River Description

The North Fork of the Poudre rarely gets high flows.  The run itself is a nice class II-III remote float though several small canyons.  The river trip starts at Livermore Bridge and there are no real rapids for the first mile or so.  Then as the river makes a hard turn and appears to cut into a razorback ridge the geology changes and a blind drop with an island looms into view.  This is the biggest rapid on the river.  The river drops more than 3 feet over a very steep slide and curves around the island.  Both the left and right lines are boatable and they can land on shallow rocks depending on the flow.  After this rapid the river picks up speed and continues through numerous class II to III drops.  There is a small risk of fences across the river in the flat sections but high flows will rip these out.  Somewhere around mile 8 the river hits Seamens Reservoir and you have a 1.5 mile paddle across the lake to the river right side of the dam where you carry up and over to the dam outflow and the confluence with the Filter Plant run on the main stem of the Cache le Poudre.

See also,

Big South (Class V/VI),
Joe Wright Creek (Class V),
Spencer Heights (Class V/VI),
South Fork (Class IV/V),
White Mile Run/Upper Rustic (Class III),
Grandpa's Gorge/Lower Rustic (Class III/IV),
The Narrows (Class IV/V/V+),
Upper Mishawaka (Class III/IV),
Lower Mishiwaka (Class III),
Poudre Park (Class IV),
Bridges (Class III/IV),
Upper North Fork (Class IV/V),
Lower North Fork (Class II/III), and
Filter Plant (Class III).