Colorado River Headwaters Byway | Colorado

The Colorado River headwaters begin in Rocky Mountain National Park in northwest Colorado, about 55 miles from Kremmling. From the trickle of snowmelt starting in the Never Summer Range to the Colorado River Delta near the Gulf of California, the Colorado River runs about 1,450 miles. Once the river flows past Kremmling, it drops into Gore Canyon, cutting through the Precambrian gneiss and schist of the Gore Range. This section of river, which drops at 68 feet per mile for three miles, is considered the most challenging commercially-rafted stretch of river in Colorado—and possibly the United States! Once the pounding river gushes out of Gore Canyon, the river calmly continues its journey through Lower Gore/Hartman Canyon and Red
Gorge Canyon, past Bull Gulch Wilderness Study Area, and into Glenwood Canyon.
The area between Pumphouse and State Bridge receives heavy public use. The
stretch below State Bridge has traditionally seen far fewer boaters. In some
cases, regulations may differ between these two sections of river due to the
differences in public use.

What to do

• Boating

Getting there

From the town of Kremmling drive south on State Highway 9 approximately 1 mile to the intersection with Trough Road (county road 1). Turn right onto Trough road and drive along this road to the intersection with State Highway 131 at Sate Bridge. State Highway 131 will go south to Interstate Highway 70. The river generally follows the path of the highway.

Managed by the Bureau of Land Management's Kremmling Field Office.

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Bureau of Land Management. Published by the Bureau of Land Management and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain; material credited to others is left out.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.