Boulder Creek — 05. Eben G Fine Park to CU Greenhouse

The Boulder Creek town run is an after-work gem while it is runnable, usually from the end of May until early July in a good water year. There are a couple of put ins above Eben G. Fine Park.  The first is just above the diversion above the first footbridge at the gravel parking lot. You can drop in via seal launch off the concrete structure, shoreline, or just below the diversion (kayak safe).  The first section from the diversion to the first big drop / slide is class II/III (flow dependent) boogy water.  Lots of boofs and eddys at flows >200cfs. Springtime has lots of branches and periodic trees in the creek.  The City of Boulder has a cleanup crew taking care of debris.  Higher water washes out wood debris. The first 8-10 drops above Eben G. Fine Park happen in quick succession. Boaters without a solid roll may want to put in at the park to skip the first section, especially at higher flows. The run starts out with a couple hundred feet of fun, shallow boogie water. The entrance to the first drop is right of center. The entrance to the second drop is further right and gets boney below 350cfs. The funky hole at the bottom catches a lot of people off-guard. The next several drops are less steep but some of the holes get sticky around 500 cfs. Right under the first footbridge you paddle under, there is a hole that is best run on river right. Once you get to Eben G. (where you pass under a second footbridge), the defined drops become less frequent. The most popular spot for surfing is the shallow but nicely retentive Library hole about halfway down the run, where you will usually see a lot of people hanging out. Below Library hole, there is signage to stay right due to a lowhead dam on river left. After passing under the bridge, you'll want to get left below the dam to avoid rebar. Boulder creek is an extremely popular place for non-boaters to hang out. You may end up reuniting at least one tuber with their recirculating craft. **To get there:** Parking in the last block of Arapahoe Street near the Foot of the Mountain motel.You can also park at Eben G. Fine park and walk up the creek path to put in. Takeouts: Boulder Public Library, Boulder High School, the Fish Aquarium, Scott Carpenter Park, or the CU Greenhouse (the Greenhouse requires permits to park between 7:30am-7:00pm as of May 2021). See _Colorado Rivers and Creeks II_, by Banks and Eckardt _(The Bible)_, for info on this & most of Colorado whitewater. Lat/longitude coords are approximate, from TopoZone. The various reaches of Boulder Creek, [Jasper Creek](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/4267/) (Class V+/VI) [The Source](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/3360/) (Class V) [Upper Boulder Canyon](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/4223/) (Class V/V+) [Lower Boulder Canyon](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/364/) (Class IV) [Boulder Town Run](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/2881/) (Class II/III), [North Fork Boulder](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/4224/) (Class V+/VI) [Alto-Alto](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/4238/) (Class IV) [Upper South Boulder](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/3125/) (Class V+/VI) [Lower South Boulder](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/2883/) (Class IV/V+/VI) [Eldorado Canyon](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/3453/) (Class V+)