"Bailey Canyon" South Platte North Fork CO

South Platte, North Fork
Bailey to Pine (Bailey, The ATF Box, The Ten Miler)


River Description "AW"
Bailey Canyon is one of the most excellent runs in Colorado. The general nature is 'easy' creeking in a beautiful, forested wilderness canyon. Bailey is somewhat remote, low-volume, tight and technical. The three Class V rapids are tough to recognize, so your first run should be guided by a Bailey veteran.

There is a historic narrow gauge railroad grade that parallels the river providing a perfect scouting trail for all the rapids. One of the bridges you duck under dates from 1886! The trail on the old railroad grade changes sides of the river. From Four Falls to The Steeps section the trail is on river right, from Super Max to the take-out it is on river left.

After four miles of mellow Class II/III is Four-Falls, the first significant rapid (Class V, V+ if you run the first drop). Four Falls is located on private property. The landowners have been tolerant of paddlers in the past, but they have complained about paddlers urinating on the trail and leaving behind their broken boats. They have asked us to pee in the river, if necessary, and pack out what you pack in. Sounds reasonable. 99% of us will want to portage 1st fall, so we can't afford to lose access here!

The mile after Four Falls is collectively dubbed 'The Steeps', with numerous class III, IV, and IV+ rapids. This section can be very stressful for Bailey virgins, as Bailey veterans usually don't want to scout it! In the three miles from Four Falls to Deer Creek, the river drops 441 feet! After Deer Creek the significant gradient is over, but there are still 4+ miles with scattered Class III and IV rapids. This is far and away the most beautiful part of the run, so it's a great time to lean back, relax, and admire the granite domes and bedrock rapids. A fire raged through this section in 2000.

https://www.americanwhitewater.org/co...

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