Clear Creek Peaks to Plains Trail
Status Updates
- Changes to the dam above Tunnel 1 will come in September to hopefully make it easier and safer to run on the right.
- Avoid Lower Clear Creek until Wednesday July 10th : Construction crews are going to be installing 3 bridges just below Elbow Falls on Lower Clear Creek. They will have flaggers at water level stopping river traffic for temporary holds between 8am Tuesday and late Wednesday. Listen to the flaggers, they are just like the stop sign holders up on the road but for river traffic. Passing the flaggers when they are stopping traffic is not only unsafe but illegal.
The Peaks to Plains Trail is a trail that will eventually connect all the way from Union Station in Denver all the way to Glenwood Springs. One of the only remaining sections of this trail to be built is through Clear Creek Canyon from Golden to Idaho Springs. The county's website about the trail and construction can be found at https://www.jeffco.us/3792/Peaks-to-Plains-Trail.
Sections are being built along the creek and Colorado Whitewater has been working for many years with Jefferson County Parks and Recreation and the contractors in charge of building the trail to maintain and improve boater access and safety in the creek corridor. This page is intended to inform the public about changes coming to the creek corridor that will affect boaters. We'll try to post updates after any meetings we have with the construction crews or trail planners. If you have questions, please reach out to CW's Access and Conservation Director Nik White either via email or on Facebook.
Overview
The current section under construction goes from just above Tunnel 1 up to Hunstman Gulch, about a 1/4 mile below Rigor Mortis Rapid.
The Dam
The biggest challenge this segment of trail represents is at the dam that separates the Lower Clear Creek section from the Tunnel 1 Down section. One hard requirement is that the parking lot just above the dam will be removed. That is a requirement from CDOT as multiple accidents happen to cars pulling out of that parking lot every year. If the trail wasn't being built, CDOT would have fenced off that parking lot off years ago. After construction, a vehicle access spot will remain for crews to access the cell tower and for emergency search and rescue crews to access the dam, but the public will not be allowed to park there.
Given that parking above the dam will not be allowed, all boaters will need to either boat or portage the dam and continue downstream either to the Tunnel 1 parking lot below the tunnel, or all the way to Golden. To mitigate risks for running or portaging the dam, we have worked with the planners and have the following plans.
- Portage improvements - Stone stairs are being installed above and below the dam to make portaging easier. These stairs will access the trail and make the portage much easier. Those stairs will likely be installed at some time during the week of June 3rd, 2024.
- Dam Rapid modifications - Removing or modifying the dam itself unfortunately is not an option. The 100-year floodplain around the dam covers the road and any modification to the dam would require a change to the floodplain which is prohibitively expensive for CDOT to mitigate. The current dam is grandfathered in. Additionally, the construction permit the trailbuilders are working under does not allow them to make changes to the river. However they have said that incidental rocks may be moved. We are working with the construction crews to make "incidental" changes to the dam rapid to make it more Class IV than class V+. We are also working with S2O Designs (a whitewater park design firm) to get recommendations. These changes are unlikely to remove the hazard of the dam itself, but should make a much more reasonable channel down river right.
FAQs
- Where should we take out now? - The 2 recommended options are 1) The Tunnel 1 Parking lot or 2) in Golden either at the whitewater park (free parking after 5pm) or at Vanover Park. If taking out at the Tunnel 1 Parking lot, Jeffco Open Space has said that they are ok with boaters jumping the fence just above the first island and walking up. They are unlikely to add a real access point there for fear of tubers putting in there and getting hurt.
- Will the put-in change? - Unlikely. The current trail segment that is under construction ends before the put-in and the next segment is unlikely to start construction until 2026 at the very earliest. Plans for that future segment are still in flux but current draft plans show the trail following the railroad grade on river right at the put-in. However, on the chance that those plans change, we have asked for a decent access point at the Huntsman Gulch Parking lot at the top end of the current segment. Using this parking lot would skip the first rapid but it would have lots of nice paved (and safer to pull out of) parking.
- Any changes at Elbow Falls? - At Elbow Falls Rapid, ramps are being installed just above and about 50 yards below the rapid and an additional access gate is going in at the pool just below the rapid. This will allow people to kayak laps of the rapid and make for better exit options if someone needs to walk out. There is an emergency pullout just below the bottom ramp where you'll be able to pick people up if needed.
- Why all the pylons?- These pylons were explicitly chosen as a way to minimize changes to the creek. They could be installed by drilling down to bedrock and pouring concrete rather than building retaining walls that would likely affect the banks more and make exit more difficult or dangerous.
