Castle Creek
01. Aspen Music School to Slaughterhouse Bridge on Roaring Fork(Castle Creek)
| Difficulty | IV+ |
| Length | 2.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 158 fpm |
| Gauge | Roaring Fork River Blw Maroon Creek Nr Aspen, Co |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 299 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 12, 2020 |
River Description
Castle Creek is a gem of the Roaring Fork Valley. The window for running Castle Creek tends to be pretty narrow during high water in the summertime, but the run tributaries into the Roaring Fork River right above slaughterhouse, and the two runs are often combined. Castle Creek starts up above Aspen at the Aspen Music School on Castle Creek Road. You'll put on about half a mile above the action, so be sure to warm up quickly. Once the water picks up, it is 2 miles of fast, continuous, quality class IV+ micro-creeking. The majority of the Castle Creek can be routed, but it is recommended that first-timers are shown down by someone who knows the run. Make sure you are on your game and keep your head on a swivel for wood because this run often has strainers.
Once the whitewater calms down you'll find yourself very quickly at the put-in for Slaughterhouse. It is most common to continue downstream and run slaughterhouse, but if Castle Creek was enough you can set shuttle at the slaughterhouse put-in.
To access the Castle creek put in, take Hwy-82 to the Aspen roundabout and exit on Castle Creek Road. Drive 1 mile up to the music school and launch from the first parking lot at the school.
Other Creeks in the area:
Cemetary (Class II+),
Woody Creek (Class III),
Toothache (Class III),
Slaughterhouse (Class IV),
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportA heads up on flows. You probably want to see 1000cfs on the gauge listed for this stretch. I just ran the castle creek at ~500cfs according to the gage listed here for this stretch. It was elf flows.
June 2013: the music school was under expansion and we were told it was under new ownership and politely told boater access was no longer allowed. We were referred to go upstream and found access at Hall Drive.
Class IV Micro creeking at its best. A fun tight run with a lot of blind corners. Make sure you know the wood situation before you go in as there generally is one. Put this together with slaughterhouse and maybe a trip to the Uppper Fryingpan on your way out.