Eagle River
04. Forest Service Visitor Center to River Run (Dowd Chute)
| Difficulty | IV |
| Length | 1.4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 70 fpm |
| Gauge | Eagle River Near Minturn, Co |
| Flow Rate as of 35 minutes | 167 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 1, 2022 |
River Description
A Colorado classic. This run has easy roadside access with continuous action.
A shortie but a goodie. the highwater of the 2003 season shifted some rocks in the chute, changing it a bit, and also washed out the classic hole below the chute.
Dowd Chute is a long gunbarrel rapid formed by the channelization of the river over time from the railroad and highways. It starts slow and ends climatically. Few major moves exist at mid to high water, the run is mostly adjusting angles to laterals, running or skirting the major waves on the left at the bottom, and avoiding small but thrashy holes in the runout.
Levels from 0-2 feet are easy and allow eddying out nearly the entire way. The difficulty picks up between 2 and 4 feet. As levels approach 5 and over, the run washes into a very continuous flume, with the features at the bottom increasing in size.
Swims are shallow and difficult to recover until the pool far downstream by the railroad trestle;the rock is sharp railroad blast rock.
The entire run can be scouted or portaged using the empty railroad tracks on river right, using the small eddy by the gauge on the sewer pipe pylon.
River Features
Put In
The closest access to the top of the Chute is a small ramp across from the White River National Forest ranger station on the south side of the Minturn I-70 exit. Parking for 6 cars exists at the ramp, and overflow can use the park-and-ride lot across the stree=.
You can extend the run with a few miles of boogie water and the occasional smaller class 3 by adding portions of the Minturn Town Section upstream. To do this, put in at the Minturn town lot by the Saloon (don't park or walk through the driveway of the Minturn Inn, take your boat over the hill at the back end of the town's gravel lot), Little Beach Park, the Cross Creek confluence, or Tigiwon Road below Gilman Gorge.
Take Out
Most quick runs use the stairs by the River Run bus stop. There is limited parking here so carpool or jog your shuttle back to the ranger station, and do not block the bus stop. Be wary of cars accelerating through the on-ramp from the condos, quite a few close calls exist here.
The takeout is on the Whiskey Creek State Wildlife Area and as of 2020, Colorado Parks and Wildlife began requiring those accessing SWA lands to have a valid hunting or fishing license, or face potential fines.
The Chute run can be extended to downtown Avon (takeout river left at Bob the Bridge) for an additional few miles of class 2 boogie water with the occasional larger class 3. This section becomes very fast and flushy at higher flows with few eddies; it is not recommended for new paddlers at these levels even though the rating is low due to the potential for very extended swims and difficult gear recovery.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportI believe the gauges have been mixed up for this section (Dowd Chute) and the Gilman Gorge. This section is below Gilman gorge which starts at red cliff, yet it is reading less water....hmmm
I think I fixed it, but now the ranges are messed up...If the stream keeper sees this post, could you please take a look at it? The Redcliff gauge should be used for the Gilman Gorge section...and the Minturn Gauge should be used for the Dowd chute section.
Top of Dowd Chute at 2,670 CFS.
Taken on 6/07/2020