| Difficulty | III |
| Length | 4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 62 fpm |
| Gauge | Roaring Fork River Blw Maroon Creek Nr Aspen, Co |
| Flow Rate as of 38 minutes | 104 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 14, 2026 |
This stretch of the Roaring Fork is the easiest stretch of the river and the best warm up/beginner run. Though 'warm up' is a bit of a misnomer - even here, the Roaring Fork is continuous and cold. Expect busy Class III boating, with better-defined eddies at lower flows. While it can be combined with the Class IV Slaughterhouse stretch, above, it is more commonly combined with the Toothache section below, which only steps up the overall difficulty slightly.
Access: The put in is the same as the take out of Slaughterhouse, a dirt lot just off of the Woody Creek Canyon Turnoff (mile marker 34.5) from Hwy 82
The take out is at the Lower Woody Creek Bridge at mile marker 31 off of Hwy 82. If you're trying to dodge traffic, consider using 17 road for the shuttle.
See also Cemetary (Class II+),
Toothache (Class III),
Slaughterhouse (Class IV),
Castle Creek (Class IV+),
Fryingpan (Upper) (Class IV+),
Fryingpan (Lower) (Class III+), and
Upper Roaring Fork (Class V+).
Same as the slaughterhouse take out, a large dirt parking lot near the Woody Creek Canyon Turnoff near mile marker 34.5 from Hwy 82
Lower Woody Creek Bridge near mile marker 31 of Hwy 82.
Jun 9, 2025
Decent at 750cfs - pretty chill in a packraft. Not much to mention besides the few named rapids, all of which were straightforward. Not much scraping, but shallow throughout. Combining with the next section was good.
Feb 7, 2021
Here is a video of the below comments that covers a lot of the run. Unfortunately my GoPro ran out before some of the nice, bigger rapids just up from the take out at the Rt. 82 Bridge.
Jul 22, 2020
We did this run with inflatable kayaks as well as the next section (Lower Woody Creek Bridge to Rt. 82 Bridge) at 330 cfs on 7/18/2020. Combined it took 3 hours. It was super fun and challenging to dodge rocks and keep in the flow of the deepest water. We still rubbed on rocks and got stuck on a few but this section and the upper part of the next section was all Class II & II+ at this level. The handling it takes to navigate the river at this flow probably makes it more for intermediates. On the next section once you get to a 90 degree left hand bend of the river where a side stream comes in and the waves splash on a low rock ledge on the right side the river becomes more of a solid Class III (see next section comments). This spot is a great one to take a break on a gravel bar and you can jump in for a fun swim. The great thing about this run is the availability of a bus shuttle that runs up Rt. 82 between Glenwood Springs and Aspen. The RFTA (Roaring Fork Transit Authority) runs every 1/2 hour at numerous stops along the way. For this run, you drive up to Wilton Jaffee Sr. Park (take Smith Way off of Rt. 82 towards the river) which is the put in spot. This is a nice little park with free parking and a boat ramp. You kayak this and the next section down to the take out at the Rt. 82 bridge. You then secure your boat or have your buddy watch them and walk up the boat ramp to the highway and walk over the bridge to the RFTA - Wingo bus stop. The bus comes at about 14 and 44 minutes after every hour. Right now they are offering free rides due to COVID-19 but probably is pretty cheap anyway. You ride the bus up to the Upper Woody Creek bus stop and get off. This puts you right at Smith Way to cross the highway and walk down to the river and your car at Wilton Jaffee Sr. Park. This really could not be any easier or more convenient!