South Platte

We put in at Veteran's Park.

About 1/2 mile down the river there is an potential Class III fall. The fall has a couple of big boulders in the middle of the fall that would make going down it very dangerous. The direct middle looks safe but upon closer inspection we saw a rock that we would definatly have hit straight on. We portaged around and would advice just hiking to past that point and putting in instead.

Water conditions are very low so be wary of staying along the deep side of the river.

At the damn (2nd fall) it is impossible to raft because there are a number of fallen trees and hazards. We checked out both sides of the river and the left side is the better side to portage. Its a bit tricky to get on land but there is a walk way that lets you walk over the dam and then a few paths that make it pretty easy to put back in.

Portions of the raft is through farm areas so you can definatly smell the fertelizer. There is also a long of pumping activity happening to dump water into the river because they are building some buildings on the right side.

Total distance was actually 9.5 miles. The water in some places are pretty smelly so avoid getting into it.

Good opportunity to get miles of experience close to the city but not particularly beautiful. Did see a few bald eagles though!

Ran this section on 6.18.22 in my kayaks with my girlfriend who had never kayaked before. Super easy and would not hesitiate bringing somebody who has never kayaked on this section. The first dam is roughly 1/4 mile in after the put in and I'd suggest going around to the right. The second dam is much further down the river and there is a a pair of bald eagles at the opening right before so keep your eyes out for them. For this second dam I would HIGHLY suggest trying to find a route on the right, my partner and I trired to go around on the left but it was full of cow manure and pretty disgusting. Overall it was a good run for a beginner and would do it again.

We did our put in at Veterans Park in Brighton and did our take out at Pearson Park in Fort Luptin. The pull out trail at Pearson is on a Sandy Barge on the left hand side a little ways past the park, then you need to carry the kayaks back.

Water was running between 480-560 CFM, was easy day.

I ran this today, 3/13/2022 at around ~250cfs on a SUP and it was fun. Once you get used to the effluent smell, it is not so bad. For the first dam, I portaged around it on river right (east side). There is a little road/walkway with a bench to make traveling around easy. I portaged the second dam on river left. I moved quickly portaging the second dam because I wasn't sure if it was private property or not, lots of cow pies made me think it was private property so tread lightly. It is an easy portage though. Other than that, the strainers are easily avoidable and currently there are very few hazards. I took out at the baseball fields in Ft. Lupton, there is a cement walkway to walk to your car around the fields. Besides the industrial areas, there was a lot of wildlife viewing and pretty cottonwoods along the river.

I did this stretch yesterday at 410 CFS on a SUP. From Denver this is an easy option for anyone looking for a class 1 float on a SUP. Yes, there is a lot of trash and broken concrete, and it is not all that terribly exciting, but to get out easily and log some miles it is convenient. If you overlook the occasional rebar, or errant tire, there is a lot of wildlife to be seen. The birds we saw included, blue herons, kingfishers, red tails, bald eagles, pipers, and red winged blackbirds. We also saw deer, fox, and two beavers. The wind picked up on us so this stretch took us 3 and 1/2 hours to complete so bring a snack just incase the wind gets you too. There is one rock dam towards the start that we had to portage but at higher flows it could be runnable on a SUP, and the dam further down was closed so we had to portage that too. I would not run it in a SUP any lower that 350. There are a few gravel bars, and strainers that if the water was any lower would be hard to get around. Would I do this stretch again? If I planned on bringing a few beverages, and went into it with the right attitude it could be a blast every time!

Dam from below at about 300-320 CFS, in Mid December. 2 SUPs, 1 SOT kayak, one river runner ran the dam no issue on river left.

The review above is spot on - prefect for beginners, but realistically, TOO slow. The water levels were really low (day of float said 216cfs, but that was about as low as could be floated). We scraped bottom a number of times - nothing where we had to get out and portage, but still low enough that it was a hassle. To be truthful, at this level, it could be a class 1 all day long, barring the first five minutes into the trip. My wife (first time 'whitewater' kayaker) dumped before we were out of Veterans Park on a ~5 ft. drop - mostly my fault for not providing a proper 'block of instruction'. The rest of the day was 'lazy river' - even the dam (which was open) was uneventful. Higher waters would probably pose a risk where portage would be suggested, but we just floated right under the dam doors and scratched the dam door bottom only slightly. Overall, a good run for a true kayak 'virgin' but most people who have been on a kayak and can paddle fairly well will be looking for more. Overall trip time ~4 hours. Oh, almost forgot - the takeout section where it says to park is closed (no parking signs in a few places) - we went over the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a baseball field - there is a 'road' behind the fields that leads to river access - not a super clean takeout (vegetation, swampy areas) but you can park within 100 yards and takeout just the same - no issue, just be aware.

Unpassable with canoe portage is required. There is a nice concrete block right before the turn to this dam that works well for group trips .