Canoe Colorado
Performance Canoes and Sea Kayaks

Colorado River     Dotsero to Bair Ranch
   5.75 miles     class I     suitable for canoes and sea kayaks

The Colorado river begins in the mountains along the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. This section from Dotsero to Bair Ranch follows a transition area where the Colorado moves from a wide mountain valley into the upper part of Glenwood Canyon. This section contains three class I drops, with otherwise flat water. I-70 follows the river through this entire section, and the Glenwood Springs bike path joins the river near the first drop. Flatwater paddlers often paddle the 10 miles from Dotsero to Shoshone Lake at the Hanging Lake Rest area. That lower 3.75 miles is flatwater and lake paddling.

Gypsum to Dotsero on the Eagle River   6 miles   class II
Sheep Gulch to Dotsero on the Colorado River   8.5 miles   class II
Dotsero to Bair Ranch   5.75 miles   class I
Bair Ranch to Shoshone Lake (Hanging Lake)   3.75 miles     lake paddling

Dotsero to Bair Ranch

Distance - 5.75 miles
Difficulty - class I
Paddling Time**  1:00 at 2,100 cfs

Paddling Season:
The Colorado river can be paddled almost year round. It may be frozen in the winter months, but is open by March.

Type of Craft:
Canoes and Sea Kayaks

How to get there:
Dotsero is located at I-70 exit 133. There is a parking lot on the southeast corner of the old green highway bridge. Bair Ranch is a rest area on I-70 at mile 128. The boat ramp at Bair Ranch consists of several large steps just east of the footbridge. Due to the proximity of the bike path, it is very easy to solve shuttle on bicycle.

Paddling Conditions:
The river between Dotsero and Bair Ranch is generally flat with three class I rapids. The upper two miles twists around several islands, which can have shallows. Once the river enters the canyon, the channel restricts and there are no more islands The three rapids are very straightforward, with no major obstructions. The first rapid can have rocks at very low water, the lower two drops are largest at very low and very high water, and wash out at medium flows. Upstream winds are common in the afternoon, making this a good morning paddle.
 

Hazards:
We did not encounter any sweepers, strainers, fences or dams on this section. The only hazards would be the rapids and rocks in the river.

The confluence of the Eagle and Colorado

Private Property:
The river between Dotsero and Bair Ranch flows through private property.

Camping:
Camping is available at a BLM Campground in Gypsum, 5 miles from Dotsero. It is a BLM fee area charging $10 per day for 2 cars, 2 tents, and up to 5 people per site. It is possible to camp right on the Eagle river. Highway noise is the only downside to the campsite, it is also a popular spot which may be crowded in summer. There is no camping along the river from Dotsero to Bair Ranch.

GPS Coordinates:
Dotsero  N 39 38.954'   W 107 3.764'
Bair Ranch   N 39 36.898'  W 107 8.123'

Maps:
USGS 7.5 min quads

Dotsero
Broken Rib Creek
Shoshone
Cottonwood Pass
 

The following map was created using National Geographic TOPO! Colorado software which offers complete 7.5 min maps for the entire state of Colorado.

Trip Photos:

These pictures were taken on a May 15, 2004 trip. Trip participants include Eric Nyre, Jesse Souza, Brian Curtiss and Nickolas Curtiss.

Confluence of Colorado and Eagle The Eagle joins the Colorado just downstream from Dotsero	Lunch Stop We paddled Dotsero to Blair Ranch as the second half of our Eagle to Gypsum trip. We stopped at the confluence for lunch.	Brian and Nickolas in the first drop This is the first drop on the river, about 2 miles from Dotsero.	Closer view of Drop There are rocks along the sides of each drop. The main channel contains standing waves but no obstructions.	Nickolas in first drop Nickolas paddles through some of the standing waves.
Entering Glenwood Canyon Just below the first drop, Glenwood Canyon begins.	Jesse in Glenwood Canyon Jesse at the start of the canyon. One of the many trains which pass through the canyon can be seen in the background.	Jesse in second drop Jesse makes a clean run through the second drop	View of waves in second drop This shows the wave train at the bottom of the drop.	Brian in the second drop The waves are not tall, but their compressed nature makes for a fun roller coaster ride.
Nickolas in second drop Nickolas has crested one of the waves, forcing most of his boat out of the water.	Nickolas in wave train The waves grow larger at the bottom of the wave train.	Approaching the third drop The Blair Ranch valley can be seen in the background, this last drop is only 1/2 mile from the take out.	Glenwood Canyon This is an upstream view of Glenwood Canyon as seen from the third drop.	Entering the third drop Both the second and third drops have strong eddies on both sides of the tongue. Most people who flip in the drops, do so by catching one of these strong eddie currents.
Jesse in the third drop Like the other two rapids in this section, the cleanest path is though the standing waves.	Exiting the third drop The strong eddy can still be seen, dividing the waves from the slack water.	Brian burying boat It's wise to wear a sprayskirt on this section.	Nickolas catching air Nickolas once again lands a big wave, throwing his bow clear out of the water.	Paddling through third drop This photo is near the end of the wave train.
Bridge at Bair Ranch This bridge marks the Bair Ranch takeout. The takeout is on river right, just before the bridge.	Bair Ranch Take Out At higher water, some of these steps are submerged. This is the actual takeout.	Upstream view from Bair Ranch Bair Ranch sits in a small valley hidden inside Glenwood Canyon.

 

 

* River Gage Information for the Eagle can be found at the USGS Dotsero gage 09070500 http://waterdata.usgs.gov/co/nwis/uv?09070500

CFS refers to Cubic Feet Per Second. The Colorado at Dotsero can be run at flows as low as 500 cfs, though over 2,000 is ideal. The photos on this page were taken at 2,200 cfs.

** Paddling Time reflects how long it took us to paddle this section. It is not float time, but the time taken while paddling at a moderate pace at the given flow rate.

 

Written by Eric Nyre