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This run is a good advanced beginner, early intermediate run for those comfortable with bracing and fast water. Swims (especially above 400cfs) have a habit of being sharp but short, though gear has a habit of running a long way downstream. There are two options for where to put in: 1. Put in above (west of) Tunnel 1 at the Lower Clear Creek takeout but walk down below the diversion dam just below there. This put in allows you to run a handful of class III rapids on the oxbow around the tunnel. 2. Put in below (east of) Tunnel 1 at the large dirt pullout. This allows you to bypass the hardest rapids and many crews will split and have the stronger paddlers go upstream and join weaker paddlers at this put-in. Below the second put in, near where the river comes back to the road, the Church Ditch diversion pulls about 40 cfs out of the river. **Go Right at all splits** in the river to avoid going down the ditch.
Class III — intermediate, bigger waves
Grade from OpenStreetMap contributors. Conditions change with flow — scout before you run.
Jefferson County, Colorado
Put-in coordinates mark the river reach; scout access and current before launching.
River geometry from american whitewater. Conditions and grades are guidance, not a substitute for on-the-water judgment.