Saint Vrain, North Fork (North Saint Vrain) - NSV

This is the official put-in, a few miles past Allenspark at the bridge where NSV crosses the highway.  Almost everybody will chose to put in below the first cascade.

This is an alternative put-in that allows access to just above the Cali section.  It requires a 1.7 mile hike from the trailhead but bypasses the oft-bemoaned mank and woodstrewn upper section.

Approximately 3 miles south of Allenspark on Hwy 7, take Taylor Mountain Road northeast for approximately 1.7.  The last mile of the road is 4WD.

Trail information avaiable here:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5373152.pdf

From Lyons, drive towards Estes Park on Hwy 36 and take a left on CR80.  Following the creek to the bottom of reservoir and park where appropriate.  Paddling across the reservoir used to be illegal, but kayakers coming down upper NSV now have permission to paddle directly across the reservoir to their car.

Steep manky cascade that is rarely run.

This section is less about enjoyment and more about survival.  Avoid wood and pinning on mank to access the goods below.  Or avoid it entirely and take use the lower put-in access.

This is about a 2 mile section between the "Murkwood" steep manky class V section above it and the California Section below it.  If you choose the lower access point, you enter the creek near the top of this section.  Stay on your toes became people get into trouble here.  There's a dangerous seive that was featured on Sean Lee's video intro to NSV midway through this section.  The spot looks rather innocuous, but can lure a boater into the dangerous the seive around a left hand turn at lower water.  As of 2013, it can be easily identified because it immediately follows the second line strung overhead across the river.  Stay right immediately after passing the second line and you can avoid the spot entirely.

This is section that NSV boaters rave about.  The granite domes begin to extend all the way down the river bed and the mileu more closely resembles California than Colorado.  The river will start to steepen.  When you go through a 3-4 foot ledge, this is a good place to get out and scout the crux of this section.  A maintained trail runs parallel to this entire section making scouting mercifully easy.

The crux is a good reminder that you're still in Colorado.  It's a stacked section of high gradient with only a few eddies to break up your descent.  A continuous lead-in terminates in a broken ledge and the river makes a sharp right turn.  An eddy in the corner provides a nice setup for the next rapid, a sloping ledge into a sizeable hole.  The hole can be sneaked in the far right channel.  Negotiate another drop before going down a steep section with two scary looking seived out boulders on the river right bank.  Another series of drops lead to the first bridge.  

The first bridge is frequently portaged.  Scout it carefully.  The next section takes on more of a pool drop characteristic as it runs through some fun drops.  Some are read and run and some require a quick scout, but most are relatively straightforward. 

Well maintained trail along river left until the bridge and river right below the bridge.

The second bridge rapid comes shortly after crossing under the second bridge.  Eddy out on the right to scout.  The rapid is fairly straightforward, but there a couple channels that look very consequential if you found yourself accidentally getting pushed the wrong way.  At lower flows, there is an easy portage by catching a small eddy on river left near the entrance of the rapid.  At higher flows, the only portage is up and around the rim, which, although I haven't tried it, follows a trail and likely isn't too bad of a carry.

Shortly after the second bridge rapid, there is a small horizon line with a tongue down the center.  At low flows, there appeared to be a significant amount of water going down the center and under a large flat rock that looked deadly to my eye.  The move to the right of it was not difficult, and I routed everybody through on directions on my descent, but is worthy of a quick scout to avoid accidentally dropping in the center.  It looked like a class III+++++ move to me.

Easy scout river right.

After lots of class IV boogie, a significant horizon line appears that signals The Slot.  A better name for the rapid would be Those Slots, because there are two.  The right one looks ugly, but the left one is a clean slopping boof down an 10 foot ramp.  The only trick is that the flow wants to take you into the right slot.

Easy scout on river left.