Boulder Creek
05. Eben G Fine Park to CU Greenhouse(Town Run)

| Difficulty | II-III |
| Length | 2.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 52 fpm |
| Gauge | Boulder Creek at North 75th St. Near Boulder, Co |
| Flow Rate as of 35 minutes | 50 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 17, 2026 |
The Boulder Creek town run is an after-work gem while it is runnable, usually from the end of May until early July in a good water year.
There are a couple of put ins above Eben G. Fine Park. The first is just above the diversion above the first footbridge at the gravel parking lot. You can drop in via seal launch off the concrete structure, shoreline, or just below the diversion (kayak safe). The first section from the diversion to the first big drop / slide is class II/III (flow dependent) boogy water. Lots of boofs and eddys at flows >200cfs. Springtime has lots of branches and periodic trees in the creek. The City of Boulder has a cleanup crew taking care of debris. Higher water washes out wood debris.
The first 8-10 drops above Eben G. Fine Park happen in quick succession. Boaters without a solid roll may want to put in at the park to skip the first section, especially at higher flows.
The run starts out with a couple hundred feet of fun, shallow boogie water. The entrance to the first drop is right of center. The entrance to the second drop is further right and gets boney below 350cfs. The funky hole at the bottom catches a lot of people off-guard.
The next several drops are less steep but some of the holes get sticky around 500 cfs. Right under the first footbridge you paddle under, there is a hole that is best run on river right.
Once you get to Eben G. (where you pass under a second footbridge), the defined drops become less frequent. The most popular spot for surfing is the shallow but nicely retentive Library hole about halfway down the run, where you will usually see a lot of people hanging out.
Below Library hole, there is signage to stay right due to a lowhead dam on river left. After passing under the bridge, you'll want to get left below the dam to avoid rebar.
Boulder creek is an extremely popular place for non-boaters to hang out. You may end up reuniting at least one tuber with their recirculati
...Jun 4, 2026
Set up shuttle from upper end of Eben G down to Scott Carpenter. Ran it 1up in an inflatable ducky. It's fun and techy but definitely low until Broadway. After Broadway it is basically not runnable. Ended up walking. This was at 157cfs on the 75th gauge.
Jun 21, 2024
Fun to the library around 300. 200 on the closer gauge (https://dwr.state.co.us/Tools/StationsLite/BOCBROCO?params=DISCHRG). Ww park is still good fun at this level.
Update to add: Meh at 150. Enough water to make it from the top to the library, but not without a decent number of bumps. Features are shallow enough to prevent a real paddle stroke on most drops/lips.
Jun 13, 2024
Was pretty full on in packrafts @ 620 cfs (590cfs on the gauge that's actually in this segment). We had frequent long swims bc the holes are sticky and the eddys are much harder to swim to w the faster current. Normal kayaks seemed fine.