This year Annual Joint Club Paddle returned back to a traditional section of the South Platte River on March 26th. The trip started from the Riverside Park in Evans and eded up after 9 miles at Kersey or after 15 miles at Kuner. It was a nice weather and plenty of water for paddling at ~700 cfs flow at Kersey.

There were 3 stand up paddleboards this year. I paddled 13.2’x30″ Voyager by Red Paddle, inflatable touring SUP with a pivoting fin by Frogfish. I paddled with the main group to the first dam, and then went a little bit faster reaching Kuner after ~3.5 hours and 15.4 miles.

There were some changes on the river. Portages over dams were somewhat more difficult, especially, for larger groups. The group did a longer portage over the first dam on a left shore. I managed to do a short portage portage on the right. I wanted to be on the right shore for some photography.

Is it possible to paddle downriver from Kuner to Fort Morgan?
Is it worth it?
My answer for both questions is yes.

10-20 years I was actively training for marathon paddle races including Texas Water Safari and WaterTribe events. It motivated me to paddle in winter and spring when lakes in northern Colorado were frozen. During that time I explored different sections of the South Platte River all the way to Fort Morgan and a little further to the Snyder bridge.

I still have some old pictures, stories and blog posts from this series of “paddling on wet sand”, probably, with many broken links. Sorry! At least, they can give some ideas what to expect.

There are numerous dams and a lot of water diversion. So, it is really necessary to check river flow data and plan accordingly. Sometimes, it may be wiser just to paddle the Evans to Kuner section with a more reliable flow. It’s better to plan shorter paddling sections or/and have some exit strategy if your paddling is going slower that expected. I paddled at flows as low as 100 cfs at Masters, but it required a lot of kayak dragging.

Good news: some dams may be opened and runnable, especially, in winter and early spring.

Related posts:
My First Paddling on the South Platte River near Greeley
New Year Paddling – 22 Miles to Fort Morgan on the South Platte River
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