| Difficulty | IV-V(V+) |
| Length | 5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 131 fpm |
| Gauge | Escalante Creek Near Delta, Co. |
| Flow Rate as of 59 minutes | 0 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 17, 2026 |
Escalante Creek (not to be confused with the Escalante River, in Utah) is a beautiful igneous gorge set into an equally beautiful 400' sandstone canyon. It hosts excellent Class V creeking with a short flow window.
The season for running Escalante Creek is extremely short. Most years it will run for a week, maybe two. In dry years it won't run at all. It is fed by snowpack on the Uncompahgre Plateau, which is in a low elevation, hot and dry part of the state. The run-off goes quickly, and starts earlier in the season than anything else in Colorado. Usually in the second half April after several days of hot, sunny weather. If it becomes overcast, or if a storm rolls through, the creek will shut down quickly.
The creek is a typical desert stream in that it is very muddy. There are a lot of shallow rocks hidden in this silty water so you have to very carefully read the surface of the water to avoid pitoning or being deflected off your line. This is compounded by the fact that this creek rarely has good water to pad it out and is usually run very low.
Also, many of the major falls require you to boof hard left or right to avoid sharp rocks, pitons, overhanging walls, etc... Scout all horizon lines!
In the upper 3/4 of the run all the major drops are spread out and have clearly defined horizon lines with good eddies above them. There is a good amount of III/IV boogie water between the major drops. Things lead off with Leap of Faith, a somewhat sievey waterfall that usually offers a good 8' boof with a somewhat shallow landing. Waterslide is next, a tricky drop that pushes most of the current against the right side wall, which is often the only available line at low water. The center opens up as flows rise, but it has a pin spot in it and the left side sieves out. The hole at the bottom can lead to swims - consider setting safety here.<
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Be aware that Leap Of Faith is a sieve, sometimes it is blocked by wood the pool behind it fills up and there is a great boof on the left, sometimes the sieve is clear and all the water goes under the rocks.
This is a very dangerous spot on the river, you can eddy out on river right above the drop and set safety at river level. There is a sticky hole backed up against the river right wall that causes a lot of swims and protacted thrashings. Additionally there is a dangerous pin spot in the center of the drop that has caused at least one close call. The drop varies significantly based on water level and when in doubt, it is worth scouting.
Two slot drops with stout holes back to back.
This small drop could be very painful if you casually drop into it. It has a can-opener shaped rock hidden in the spray on the right side. You can barely make out the roostertail it creates in the picture. Good motivation to boof hard left. Potentially a portage at low water.
Very aptly named. At the lip of the drop the current slams left directly into a smooth rock. With a good boof right you can brace into the dynamic current coming off the rock, but bobbing straight into the drop often leads to flips. There is no pool to swim into, and gradient picks up pace dramatically as it enters the gorge, so this is a bad place to swim. At this point your right at the doorstep of the Lower Gorge, get out now if you don't want to run it.
A twisting slide above Escalante Falls with a fin left of center. The fin was the gauge before there was a gauge. Medium flows just cover the fin, and if it's well underwater things are high and the lower gorge will be full on.
Entrapment city! The river right channel drops into a killer pothole. The center channel is the only one that goes, but it is a tricky move and you face the very real possibility of blowing it and heading down the left channel backwards. The river left channel stairsteps down with a bad vertical pin spot that is hard to miss.
This is a tricky drop that is responsible for most of the swims on Escalante Creek. Fortunately there is a big pool to swim into. Just after the drop the current pulls strongly into an overhanging wall. If you are upright you can push off of the wall or bump it with your bow. But flips tend to result in swims.
Jun 8, 2012
Gauge info:
Start with the Gunnison at Grand Junction (http://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?gjnc2)
Subtract the Gunnison at Delta Gauge (http://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?gjnc2) and the Uncompahgre at Delta (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/uv/?site\_no=09149500&PARAmeter\_cd=00065,00060).
If the difference is 800-1000 it should be in. General Season is Late April-Late May. Check Mountainbuzz.com as it will be announced over the wire when someone goes up there for a visual report. Cold Weather in Western CO can shut it down overnight, very worth it at medium high flows.
May 15, 2005
aka Big Balls Falls
