South Platte, North Fork, CO

Launch pad Super Max

Launch pad Super Max
Photo of Brian Adkins by Matt Stiegler taken 08/02 @ 350 cfs

River Description

There is a historic narrow gauge railroad grade that parallels the river providing a perfect scouting trail for all the rapids. One of the bridges you duck under dates from 1886! The trail on the grade is river right from Four Falls to "The Steeps" section, from Super Max to the take-out it is on river left.

After 4 miles of mellow II/III is Four-Falls, the first major rapid (Class V, V+ if you run the first drop). Four Falls is located on private property. The landowners have been tolerant of paddlers in the past, but they have complained about paddlers urinating on the trail and leaving behind their broken boats. They have asked us to urinate in the river, if necessary, and pack out what you pack in. Sounds reasonable. 99% of us will want to portage 1st fall, so we can't afford to lose access here!

The mile after Four Falls is collectively dubbed "The Steeps", with numerous class III, IV, and IV+ rapids. This section can be very stressful for Bailey virgins, as Bailey veterans usually don't want to scout it! In the 3 miles from Four Falls to Deer Creek the river drops 441 feet! After Deer Creek the significant gradient is over, but there are still 4+ miles with scattered Class III and IV rapids. This is far and away the most beautiful part of the run, so it's a great time to lean back, relax, and admire the granite domes and bedrock rapids. A fire raged through this section in 2000, but damage at river level is minimal.

Shuttle directions: The put-in is reached from Hwy. 205 mile 222.2 (at the east side of Bailey) where you turn onto Hwy. 68. Follow this road 0.5 miles to the culverts that pass the flow of the NF South Platte under the road and put-in on river left. Parking at the put-in is limited, so try to leave only one vehicle from your group there. Park tight to the hill on the left side of the driveway. Do not block access to this driveway. This landowner graciously ignores paddlers putting in, and trespassing, on his property. An alternate put-in can be found 1/4 mile upstream in Bailey, behind Sulley's Tavern (which is a good place for a burger and a beer as long as you don't mind really slow service). The first 4 miles flow through private property and there are a lot of fishermen who pay $$$ for the privilege of fishing here. Please don't make a lot of noise, and move through quickly. We have good relations with these landowners and would like to avoid any conflict.

To reach the take-out turn south off Hwy. 205 at mile 229 onto Pine Valley Rd. Follow this road 5.9 miles and then take a right on Crystal Lake Rd. This road ends in 1.3 miles at Pine Valley Ranch Park which is about as good as a takeout as you could ask for, with a huge paved parking lot right next to the river with no fees to pay. If you're a fun hog bring your mountain bike as there are a lot of trails here. Run time is between 3-5 hours. Shuttle is 30 min. one way, on paved roads.

Check out Mike Albrecht's pics of Bailey

For more information see Colorado Rivers and Creeks II, Gordon Banks and Dave Eckardt. Click on the picture below to buy it online.