Shot with GoPro Hero camera mounted on a front deck of JKK Supernova kayak

I love paddling the South Platte River in eastern Colorado. The further downstream from Denver the better. Evans to Kersey to Kuner is a popular river segment which can be paddled year around. Below Kuner the river is getting more interesting to me, but it is more difficult to find enough water there due to numerous diversion dams. The South Platte is filling up some big reservoirs including Empire, Riverside, Jackson and North Sterling. Frequency of dams is not really higher than between Evans and Kersey, but they can take much more water.

Weather and water permitting I am going to extend my South Platte River paddling guide all the way to the Cooper Bridge below Fort Morgan. I have never managed to paddle further downstream. Every 10 miles or so the river is crossed by a highway or county road, so there are many access points. However, planning a paddling trip below Kuner requires checking flow data and some flexibility.

On February 14, 2011 I did a couple mile paddling upstream starting from Masters. You can launch under the bridge (right shore upstream) on county road 87. You need to go over a bridge rail, but not over a fence. This is a new bridge with a plenty of room for parking, In my old reports I was talking about old very narrow bridge and road.

1/4 mile upstream of the bridge there is a diversion dam for the Jackson Reservoir canal. I believe that there is an underwater structure (gate) across the river there which can be lifted, but I have never seen it in an upright position.

Just browsing posts created in this blog in Decembers in the last three years. I see a lot of winter paddling on the South Platte River and some memories from summer trips. Late in December 2007 I was still paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir.

The most significant event was to start paddling WSBS Thundebolt-x kayak in December 2006.

2006

Are My Paddlings Days Over?

Kayak Building as a Winter Project? Stripper, Stitch-and-Glue, Skin on Frame …

WSBS Thunderbolt Kayak in My Backyard

Winter Afternoon on South Platte River with Thunderbolt-X Kayak

12 Pictures and Reflections from Paddling with a Camera in 2006

Kayaks and Politics: Am I a Racist ?

Paddling Sisson Nucleus Kayak on Lonetree Reservoir

Cache la Poudre in Winter by Racing Canoe

2007

Neutral Density (ND) Filters for Paddling Photography

Kayaking the Aland Archipelago of the Baltic Sea in Pictures by Björn Olin

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.

It was my first paddling on the Horsetooth Reservoir this year. I launched Sea Wind canoe at North Eltuck Cove from Lory State Park just dragging my boat on snow like sleds. It was similar snow scenery as four years ago when I was shooting Colorado Winter Paddling video clip. Just an easy 6 mile paddling with a long photo session at Quarry Cove.

Another afternoon paddling on the South Platte River, this time near Kuner. It was warm, but windy. I packed again my DSLR camera with a tripod into Thundeborlt kayak, but didn’t have an opportunity to shoot to many pictures.

The light wasn’t that great. So, all pictures below come from Pentax Optio W30, except the last one of old cars.

I have several favorite “tight places” on the South Platte. One of them is a narrow channel a mile or so upstream of Kuner. The river forms a pretty big island there.

Three weeks after surgery my wrist is not fully operational yet, but I can do almost anything with some movement restrictions. So, yesterday, I started my 2009 paddling season with an easy afternoon workout on the South Platte River near Greeley.

My local paddling lakes are frozen, but Horsetooth Reservoir is still open and the South Platter River is flowing. Unfortunately, I am not ready for my usual winter paddling yet. I need a few weeks to recover from my wrist surgery which I had just before Christmas.

Meantime, I am reposting a photo story from my paddling on the South Platte River on January 12, 2008. I paddled Thuderbolt-x kayak upstream from Kersey to the Plumb Ditch Dam and back down the river. All pictures were shot with Pentax Optio W30.

Rob Bean just paddled the same course on the South Platte with his Spencer X-treme canoe and a new wing paddle. He posted some pictures from this trip on Facebook.

Related posts:

South Platte River below Denver, Colorado – GPS/photo river guide

Paddling with Icicles – Thunderbolt-X on the South Platte River below Greeley

Old Truck, Young Eagle and the South Platte River Mysteries

Paddling Thunderbolt Kayak in Tight Places – Lone Tree Creek

January 2001 – My First Paddling on the South Platte River

I posted this little photo story in December 2006. It happens again! Beaver Pond is frozen, but Horsetooth Reservoir is still open and the South Platte River is flowing as usual.

Some posts from winter paddling:

Winter Dusk on the South Platte River

Winter Afternoon on South Platte River with Thunderbolt-X Kayak

Winter Canoeing on the South Platte River in Northern Colorado

Climbing Snowdrifts on the South Platte River with Thunderbolt Kayak

Paddling during Duck and Goose Hunting Season on South Platte River?

My First Paddling on the South Platte River near Greeley

On the Icy South Platte River with Pentax Optio W10 Camera and Thunderbolt Kayak

Sea Wind, the Icebreaker – Paddling Video Clip from Northern Colorado

Sea Wind on the Horsetooth Reservoir – Colorado Winter Paddling Video

I discovered the South Platte River for paddling almost 8 years ago in January 2001. I believe it was the first river I paddled in northern Colorado and, for sure, my first winter paddling here. Here is some old writing on these day trips with my CLC Patuxent 10.5 kayak. It was originally posted on Mountain Wayfarer site. At that time, I was shooting slides with Canon EOS 2AE SLR camera.

I was launching my kayak at Mitani-Tokuyasu State Wilderness Area just below the mouth of the Cache la Poudre River. This place is less suitable for paddling now days. It is open only during a hunting season and closes by the end of February. A parking space is limited to 4 cars only. And, you need the Colorado Division of Wildlife Habitat Stamp to use the area. See my GPS/photo river guide for other access points.