Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Paddling & Tubing
Colorado is one of the great paddling destinations, with a long white-water season lasting
from late May until September. Everything from class II float trips to a raging class V can
be yours on five rivers. The Arkansas River is the most paddled body of water, with 150
miles of open water running from Leadville to the Royal Gorge. The best Arkansas pad-
dling happens in June and early July. July is a good time to move from group rafting trips
into your own kayak.
You can take lessons in Fort Collins or Denver, but the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Center
(
Click here
)
in Salida has better scenery. The class III Blue River runs through Brecken-
ridge in the heart of Summit County in the early season. Vail's Eagle River is a nice high-
country early-season run, while the class V Gore Canyon is so big it's not even open to
paddlers until late season. The Dolores River in southwest Colorado threads through the
San Juan Mountains past Anasazi ruins and petroglyphs, with a short dam-controlled sea-
son. It makes a beautiful multiday trip.
White-water parks are de rigueur for municipalities throughout the state, including relat-
ively new parks in Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Buena Vista and Cañon City. But you
don't have to slip into a hull to get wet. Tubing is a popular summer pastime on Boulder
Creek, on the Poudre River in Fort Collins, on the Yampa in Steamboat and in Pagosa
Springs. You can run the Arkansas River in Cañon City in a tube or on a boogie board.
