Vallecito Creek

This area is remote and hazardous. The gorge is committing and escape is not easy. A guide is highly recommended for your first time.

Like most Durango area whitewater, a decent hike in (hike up rather) is required to access the put in. Hike the trail for about 1.5 miles and once the trail regains the river from up high, look for a small trail descending down to a put in slab of granite. There are 4-5 nice warm up rapids to get your mojo on before you bomb off Entrance Falls...one of the best left boofs in Colorado. Many paddlers use a good sized eddie on river right after the warm up rapids to get together and stage for Entrance Falls. Spread yourselves out, give each other plenty of space and enjoy the mellow lead in to a fantastic drop.

You can get out of your boat to scout the 1st drop of Trash Can from river right or from up high river left. The right eddie is better for scouting, the left eddie better for photos of Entrance Falls.

In 2020 a pineapple express in June dropped heaps of warm rain onto the remaining snowpack in the San Juan's flooding the canyon depositing wood in many places and moving rocks around. The only major rapid change occurred in Trash Can, a 3-tiered rapid in the gorge after Entrance Falls that can come up quickly. This change was for the worse. It's highly recommended that paddlers entering the gorge for their first lap after this flood scout Trash Can on the hike up. The normal lines have changed. Make sure you have eyes on this rapid before you just bomb down thinking you know where you're going. The rest of the run is unchanged.

Aerial photos of the gorge are available through the La Plata County Office of Emergency Management.

For more thorough details on this run, consult Whitewater of the Southern Rockies by Evan Stafford and Kyle McCutchen. Available on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2GOhrRX