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It is not easy to catch good a paddling water in the South Platte River in eastern Colorado. 5 years ago I made a series of trips on the South Platte above and below Fort Morgan. My trip reports had a common title Paddling on Wet Sand …
It seems that the South Platte has a pretty good flow this winter, so I selected 20 miles above Fort Morgan for my New Year paddling. Sunny weather with temperature above freezing (well at least before sunset), a little bit of breeze, and the river flow of ~750 cfs at Weldona.
I was joined by Rob Bean for this trip. We paddled our Kruger canoes (Sea Wind and Sawyer Loon), probably, the best boat choice for winter paddling. We started at Goodrich (hwy 144) around 12:30 and finished 5 hours later under the Rainbow Bridge at Fort Morgan.
The river was slower than I expected – much wider than between Evans and Kuner, but pretty shallow with multiple channels. It was also much nicer than you could see around Greeley. No feedlot aroma! We had three dam portages. The last one over the Upper Platte and Beaver Canal dam was pretty long, but snow on ground helped with portaging.
You can compare my pictures with those shot five years ago during my 30 mile Texas Water Safari training run. I had much lower water (~400 cfs at Weldona) and a nicer weather in May.
Connie helped us with a shuttle. We finished our trip together with a dinner at Fort Morgan’s Memories.
South Platte River at Orchad (highway 144) – preparing our canoes, Sea Wind and Loon, for launch. Almost every river bridge access here requires to go under or over barbed wire fence.
Photo by Rob. See his pictures on Facebook: South Platte Training – New Years Day 2010
A typical scenery with cottonwood trees on the South Platte River
Following Rob through one of narrower river channels
A little bit of sunbathing just before sunset.
Eagle nest. We saw several bald eagles.
Upper Platte and Beaver Canal Dam, just 1.7 miles above Fort Morgan
Dragging boats in falling darkness – a quarter mile portage along the frozen channel to find a safe place to launch our boats. The river banks were covered by ice and deep undercut snow. It was definitely more winter near Fort Morgan.
South Platte Training – New Years Day 2010 – Robert Bean’s Facebook Photos.
GPS odometer. Distance: 22.3 miles, moving time: 4:11, stopping time: 0:58, average speed: 4.3 mph, max speed: 7.5 mph.
| landmark | mileage | comments |
| Orchad (hwy 144) | 0.00 | start |
| Goodrich (hwy 39) | 4.50 | possible river access |
| Fort Morgan Canal | 7.30 | portage left: two dams within ~200 yards, 2nd drop not clearly visible from upstream |
| Weldona (Co Rd 9) | 10.90 | possible river access |
| hwy 144 | 12.00 | possible river access, water gage “S. Platte near Weldona” |
| Upper Platte and Beaver Canal | 20.60 | tall and long dam across a wide valley, portage right or left depending on water condition, strong current and possible rapids below the dam |
| Fort Morgan (hwy 52) | 22.30 | Rainbow Bridge / Riverside Park landing on right under the bridge |
Related posts and resources:
South Platte River below Denver, Colorado GPS/photo river guide
Paddling on Wet Sand: Discovering the South Platte River in Eastern Colorado
Paddling on Wet Sand: the South Platte River below Fort Morgan
30+ miles of South Platte River in eastern Colorado
Paddling under the Rainbow Bridge – Fort Morgan, Colorado
Starting Winter Paddling and Racing Season on the South Platte River