Hazard Warning: Hazard information may be user-submitted and unverified. Conditions change frequently. Always scout rapids and obstacles yourself.
Rapid CO Class III

The Chutes

South Platte - 04. Deckers to Confluence with North Fork (CO)

Gauge Conditions
Runnable: ? – ? CFS

Approximate - nearest available gauge. Use as general reference only.

Description

When you are floating, you'll pass The Giant's Balls, 3-4 house sized surprisingly round boulders with a beach below them on river right that accesses a parking lot with a vault toilet. The Balls are the landmark that creates a nice class II rapid and lets you know that the Chutes are coming up next. About 150 yards downstream from the beach, the river makes a sharp right turn and your last decent eddy is on the right just below the turn behind a low boof-able rock. It is annoying but possible to access the parking lot from this eddy.

Look downstream from that eddy to see the apartment building-sized, overhanging, water-streaked rock. There is a pool even with that rock that most people use to split this rapid in half. Above that pool, stay in the main current a bit right of center and avoid the FU rocks in the middle. There is a two-foot drop just above the pool that is difficult to see from the road. Use the pool for a quick recovery then hit the main chute. Point straight (a slight right-hand angle can help), paddle hard, and collect everything in the massive pool at the bottom.

Access Notes: It is illegal to stop your car on the road and/or scout this rapid along the banks. It is also illegal to get out of your boat and climb around on the rocks (say, to do any of the amazing seal launches at the bottom). Many boaters have gotten trespassing tickets here, in particular for climbing up to do the seal launches. Forest Service Rangers do patrol the road most summer weekends and many weekdays as well.

Hazard Notes: 

1) PFDs (and helmets but I'm gonna start small) should be worn by everyone, especially tubers, for this rapid. The chute itself is DEEP and the walls are slightly overhung and many near-drownings have occurred here. Wearing a PFD is very effective at helping to manage this risk.

2) There are many body-holding sieves on river right next to the two-foot drop. Most people wont end up anywhere near them, however some people like to catch the eddy on the right just above the two-foot drop to boat scout it and missing this eddy can be dangerous. 

Location
Type
Rapid
Difficulty
Class III
Mile Marker
12.9 mi
Directions
View Full Run
04. Deckers to Confluence with North Fork
South Platte
I-II(III) 15.6 mi
Current Conditions
5-Day Forecast
Whitewater data from
American Whitewater