Leading the Charge: Colorado on Top of Whitewater Park Trend

It’s hard to improve upon Mother Nature in Colorado. But even with 54 Fourteeners and mountains of snowfall, the state is leading the charge in doing that in the unlikeliest of places: rivers. “Colorado is the definite leader of the whitewater park trend,” says Gary Lacy of Boulder’s Recreation Engineering and Planning Inc., which has designed the majority of such parks in the country. “It’s a combination of the state’s geography and a strong boating community.”

The numbers tell the story. Colorado — which hosted the firstever international whitewater park conference in 2005 — has more than 26 whitewater parks, more than a quarter of the country’s total. They’re located everywhere there’s water and people, from resorts like Vail, Breckenridge and Steamboat Springs to towns like Pagosa Springs, Salida and Pueblo. The trend’s top two design firms are also located along the Front Range. Joining Lacy’s Boulder operation is Denver’s McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group, which designed Confluence Park on the South Platte River and the 1996 Olympic course on Tennessee’s Ocoee River.

The most recent addition to the craze is the Glenwood Whitewater Park on the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, which opened in April 2008 and will host the National Freestyle Championships May 30-31. More than seven years in the planning, its construction was made possible by an $888,000 grant awarded by the Glenwood Springs City Council. While it got on the radar of kayakers and boardsurfers across the country thanks to last year’s near-record runoff (which saw the river swell to 20,000 cubic feet per second), it’s already paying dividends. “It balances out the tourist season, eliminating the slower economic periods of the year in the early spring and late fall,” says Glenwood’s Vicky Nash. “It’s a great asset to the community.”

That theme is echoed wherever such courses have been built. While the world got its first look at the concept at the 1972 Olympics in Augsburg, Germany, Colorado hopped on the water-redirecting wagon in 1974 when the City of Denver built Confluence Park on the South Platte to modify a low-head dam. In 1990, Lacy re-channeled Boulder’s Boulder Creek Park, marking the trend’s first attempt to specifically accommodate kayakers.

The City of Golden turned heads in 1996 by building the country’s first publicly funded course for whitewater on Clear Creek. “Golden broke the mold by allocating municipal funds solely for a destination whitewater park,” says Lacy. “They approached it as they would a new softball field.”

As well as spawning a new breed of “park-and-play” kayaking, these parks are proving a boon for local economies. While Golden’s course was built for $165,000, studies estimate it contributes $1.4 million to the annual economy. Salida’s park, built for $300,000, is also tremendously successful. “It impacts all of downtown,” says Mike Harvey of the Arkansas River Trust, adding that the town’s annual FIBArk festival now makes more than $50,000 per year. “It’s like South Beach, Rocky Mountain-style.”

As important as these parks’ financial implications are, their role is establishing flows. In 2001, Golden won a decision from the Colorado Supreme Court guaranteeing minimum flows for its park, creating a new fork in the state’s convoluted waterrights landscape. To do so, it had to prove it could capture, control and divert the water; put it to “beneficial” use; and show the minimum flow necessary for a reasonable recreational experience. The result was precedent setting. The Recreational In-Channel Diversion (RICD) the city received established for the first time that recreation is as beneficial a use of water as agriculture, industry and development.

“That decision was the big breakthrough for recreational water-rights cases,” says water attorney Steve Bushong, of Denver’s Porzak, Browning and Bushong, whose firm has won similar settlements for parks in Vail, Steamboat Springs, Gunnison and Salida. “These municipalities are trying to protect their investment, and the parks provide the diversion and control necessary to meet the right’s requirements. It’s the new West, showing that recreation has come of age.”

Frequent contributor Eugene Buchanan is the publisher/ editor-in-chief of Recreation Publishing Inc./Paddling Life. He lives in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

MG

Six Front Range Parks to Paddle this Season

With this year’s above-average snowfall, there’s no better time to kayak Colorado’s latest crop of man-made whitewater wares. Eschew the wilderness for a weekend and hit any of the following to see what the latest boating buzz is all about.

Clear Creek, Golden

Golden’s famous water is now used for more than just beer. A centerpiece and economic catalyst for the city, Golden’s Clear Creek Whitewater Park is located on 10th and Maple streets, just south of Lion’s Park. Hit one of 13 drops on the 800-foot-long man-made course, all of which was snow you skied during the winter at Loveland.

Arkansas River, Pueblo

Finished in 2005, the downtown Pueblo course on the Arkansas River was built by the Army Corps. of Engineers as a fish passage and to ease navigation around an outdated and dangerous 12-foot-high dam. By no coincidence, it’s also a great passage for paddlers, with eight natural boulder holes for messing about in boats.

South Platte/Confluence Park, Denver

Confluence Park in downtown Denver serves double duty as paddling playground and flood control. Originally built in 1974 and refurbished twenty years later, it now includes sidewalks, planters, flood-control and whitewater features. Plus, if you forget your nose plugs (which you’ll want for water-quality issues), you can head to REI right next door.

St. Vrain River, Lyons

The Lyons course was remodeled just last year, with plenty of rocks to choose from local quarries. Hit the newly improved Black Bear and October holes for a solid sousing; then swing by June 9 for the Lyons Outdoor Games featuring competitions, the band Planet Bluegrass and local suds from Dale’s Pale Ale.

Boulder Creek, Boulder

Long a haven for inner-tubers, Boulder Creek became Graceland for kayakers in 1990 with the building of a whitewater park at Eben G. Fine Park. Continue down toward the library and you’ll see park-designer Gary Lacy’s house on the right. Hit it May 23-25 and enjoy the 22nd Annual Boulder Creek Festival between 9th and 14th streets, featuring 12 event areas and more than 500 vendors.