Taylor River

The River Description for the Taylor has some serious mistakes in its milestones and needs to be revised. The locals divide the Taylor into the Upper Taylor and Lower Taylor sections. The Upper Taylor is an 8 mile section that begins near Lottis Creek Campground and ends at Southbank R.A.P, just above a highway bridge that is just above Scenic River Tours upper shop (the lower one being in downtown Gunnison). The folks at Scenic were very cool in helping us set up our shuttle when my vehicle broke down. The locals call 'Todd's Slot' The Slot. IT IS NOT AT MILE 2. It is at mile 4, just above the commercial rafting put-in. I am a class III+ IK boater who ran the Upper Taylor two weekends ago in mid July. It is a beautiful gem of a class III river at around 250 cfs. After starting just down the road from Lottis Creek Campground, I immediately encountered a fun boulder garden warm-up before hitting the constricted series of fun drops known as Lottis Staircase. After some fun class II+ whitewater below through mile 2.5, I then entered into Diversion Jungle, a stretch of river modified with at least twenty boulder-constructed low-head dams to provide prime fly fishing for the customers of the private retreat owners of the banks encapsulating the river in that section. I expected to be confronted by property owners who do not understand boating easement law, but did not encounter any, even though I was clearly visible in my orange AIRE Force for over a mile. Upon exiting the private stretch, the natural bouldery drops of the river resumed. Then I hit The Slot. I was very fortunate to meet a local hard shell boater named Jay at this point, and I followed him through the final 3.9 mile section below The Slot. One can definitely see how The Slot becomes a IV/V in bigger water. I would call it a class III+ at 250 water when scouted, and a IV if not scouted. The Upper Taylor is very easy to scout from the road. The final 3.8 miles down to Southbank is a super-fun, nicely channelized class II/III run at low water with many continuous whitewater sections and numerous chutes and channels. It was a little scrapey in a few places at 250. Jay says his favorite level is 500 cfs, with 1000 being fun but short. There are a few logs to watch for, but all of them were old, river-worn and out of the channel. I did encounter one riverwide Douglas Fir above The Slot, but was able to easily step over it at river's edge at 250 cfs. After the take-out at Southbank (mile 8) the river flattens out and heads into Harmel's fishing resort. The owner says he will tolerate small parties of private boaters who are considerate to the anglers vacationing there. I looked at Harmel's section of river and didn't consider it worth bothering the fishermen. I say live and let live and don't bother with this section of the river. After that the river continues on into very unwelcoming private property for the next several river miles, with cables stretched across the river and rumors that the owners have made citizens arrests of any and all they consider trespassers. Again I say live and let live and leave these crusty old curmudgeons be. Below this hostile stretch is the put-in for the Lower Taylor, called Five Mile put in. From here, a very fun class II stretch is available all the way down to the highway take-out just below Three Rivers Resort and the Taylor/East River confluence. At this point the Legendary Gunnison River begins, and intermediate boaters can enjoy a long ride all the way to Gunnison Whitewater Park and beyond on safe levels of water. The whole Gunnison/Almont/Crested Butte area is a wonderful place for a whitewater vacation and so many other activities, and I would highly recommend it as an affordable family vacation or as an introduction to paddling for beginners at safe water levels.