Clear Creek

Located at the Clear Creek Whitewater Park, this is the upper most put-in for the Lawson/Dumont section. You will have about 3/4 mile of class II-III boogie water until the first major rapid, Meat and Bones III-IV.

The whitewater park itself is just decent. Prepare for an ice cream headache everytime you roll and for the water to be fairly shallow most of the year. It is a good spot, however, to brush up on your roll or to experience a couple decent surf waves before entering the rapids.

The first rapid of the Lawson section. This rapid begins with a series of read and run holes and then a long 1/2 mile wave train until the large final drop locally refered to as 'The Zambezi Wave' due to its height and power at higher flows. You can avoid the main power of this feature by heading to the right, but it will send you face first into the willows near shore. Best strategy is just to hit it straight and fast closer to the middle.

The only real things to note are how very narrow this section of river is which makes it very fast at higher flows (800+).

The second and final rapid of the Lawson section on Clear Creek. This is a very fun rapid that is basically a series of drops and holes that get larger as you go. The rapid starts with a hard turn to the right with a couple of good lateral holes on the outside that will knock you around if you're not paying attention. From there the rapid straightens out and becomes a series of holes/drops.

There are a couple of noteworthy hazards to this rapid, the first being a rather nasty drop full of rocks about halfway through. It is easily gone around to the right and is easily spotted by the large pipe crossing above the river just after the drop. The second hazard is mostly just for rafts. A drop or two after the pipe drop is a nasty pair of rocks referred to as 'Hostage Rock' by the local raft guides. If you hit it sideways, prepare for a long and arduous recovery. It can be either split or gone to the right of.

This rapid feels boney below 600cfs as you will likely hit rocks in several of the drops. It feels the most powerful in the 800-850 range as most of the holes and drops start to get very mean and you really need to go into them with speed and power. If you get to run this above 1000, prepare for a fast and fun run as most of the large holes start to wash out and become large fast waves.

This is the put-in for the Dumont section of river on Clear Creek. This is a very busy commercial put-in with fairly limited parking. Please do not block the buses and if you do not see parking, there is another put-in not far down the road.

There are a few miles of class II-III boogie water from here to the first major rapid of this section.

This is the lower put-in for the Dumont stretch of Clear Creek. It is the better option for private put-in as it is not commercially used, has much more parking, and it cuts around 2 miles of boogie water off of the start of this section. Nomad is just 3/4 mile downstream.

After a long straight stretch, you will suddenly find yourself dropping into Nomad. This rapid is best run entering center left and then immediately working right and then back mid left again very quickly. This is a short and fast rapid that does not usually cause any problems. The only thing to note is that at higher flows (700+) a large hole starts to form at the bottom right know locally as 'The Crusher'. It has crushed rafts and kayaks alike at higher flows.

Immediately after Nomad comes Fall River. This is a very straight forward rapid that is very read and run. The only notable part of this rapid is the entrance. At most flows the entrance has a small 'bump' in the horizon line that is a fun little boof in a kayak. For rafts, you generally want to go just right of this bump.

At high flows (800+) there is a large hole about half way through that has swam a kayaker or two.

After a long straight away you will come into Phoenix rapid. This is a long fun rapid that most consider the crux of the Dumont section. This rapid consists of several (14 I think?) holes, one right after the other. While there are quite a few large holes, this rapid is basically read and run as it is very narrow and the holes are mostly river wide. There is one large hole at the very bottom of the rapid called 'The Asskicker'. You can punch it or just go around it to the left, or drop it sideways and enjoy a good ride! But beware, any swimmers in Phoenix need to swim to shore ASAP as Deliverance is just a very short distance downstream and it has hurt many a commercial swimmer.

The only thing to note for Phoenix is that it is the only rapid on this section of Clear Creek that doesn't wash out at higher water. It starts to get VERY mean above 800 and above 1000 there are monster holes. The good news is that in a kayak they are all easily avoided by sticking close to the right shore for the whole rapid.

Immediately (like 300ft) after Phoenix is Deliverance. This is a very quick and fun rapid that has most of its power right at the beginning. Enter with speed and slightly right of center with a right angle. This will lead you into the corner of a large hole that will either shoot you out right, or typewriter you across to the left side and spit you out. Both are ok, but right is preferred especially in a raft. After the initial drop it gets very shallow and rocky, especially in the middle.

The only thing to note is that if you swim this rapid, especially after falling out in the bottom of Phoenix, you're going to feel like one of the main characters from the movie Deliverance. It is fast and rocky!

The final rapid of the Dumont section, Outer Limits. This is a very fast and narrow rapid and is one of my personal favorites of this section. It is basically a series of 4-5 holes all stacked on top of each other dropping 20ft or so total. The main idea at lower to medium flows is to start at the far right charging to the left and then heading back to the right about half way through. At high water (700+) just send it down the middle and enjoy the ride!

Of note in this rapid is a tooth like rock that sticks out in the very middle at low to medium flows(150-500ish) known as 'Superman'. it was given this name because if you hit it just right (sideways) it will send you and any passengers flying through the air and into the river. The good news is that it will likely be caught on camera for you because this is where Rapid Images and rafting companies take photos. This rock is avoided by following the strategy above.

There are several places to takeout through the town of Idaho Springs. The first one is right at the intersection of I-70 and hwy 103. There are two large parking lots on either side of 103 to park in. Please pay for parking because they are pretty strict on it and it's only a couple bucks. The problem with this spot is that eddie service is basically non existant, especially at higher flows. Rafts will have a hard time stopping here.

Further downstream basically in the middle of town is the small Town Park. There is a small free lot here and a very small eddie that has a ramp for rafts. This ramp is heavily used by commercial companies so grab your boat and get out of the way.

The last option is just to combine the Town Stretch with Dumont and enjoy a nice 6 miles of read and run class 2-3 and take out at Kermits (now Two Bears).

No matter which option you choose, the day is best ended with some good food and drink in the town of Idaho Springs. Tommyknockers Brewery has a great selection of local brews!