With temperatures hitting 90 degrees and with the creek open to tubing and swimming, it’s no wonder that everyone and their dog flocked to Golden’s section of Clear Creek for the June 28-29 weekend.
After a two-week closure, city and county officials reopened Clear Creek to tubing and swimming on June 24, as water levels and speeds dropped. This effectively kicked off Golden’s tubing season, as the corridor sees thousands of tubers throughout the summer.
Many took advantage of it on June 28, as tubers, kayakers, riverboarders, rafters, swimmers and others enjoyed a hot afternoon on the creek.
City of Golden ambassadors remarked how, while June 28 was certainly busy, the corridor sees much bigger crowds later in the summer. They attributed the smaller crowds to the yellow-flag conditions, which cautions against children recreating in the water.
Yellow-flag conditions also can be hazardous, and adults are recommended to wear helmets and life jackets, and to proceed with caution, they said. There have been a few rescues and other dangerous situations since the creek reopened to tubing on June 24, they explained.
Along the Clear Creek Trail between U.S. Highway 6 and Vanover Park, there were dozens of people floating along the creek. Many were wearing protective equipment; others were not. Some flipped out of their tubes as they were going down a rapid but managed to regroup. Most of them seemed to be enjoying themselves.
At Vanover Park, though, there were still plenty of smiles and laughs, but others were processing and recovering from their experiences.
One rafter said he got tossed out and smacked into a rock, and describing how his adrenaline kicked in during the experience and was just starting to wear off.
Among the tubers, Brad Meyer said he’d lost feeling in his toes because the water was so cold, and couple Brandi Scarboro and Scott Kerner were also recovering from the extra-cold water by basking in the sun. Then, Geneva Espinoza and Shannon Lawrence had scrapes on their shins and cuts on their toes from where they ran into rocks.
Overall, the tubers said they had fun but recommended caution.
Espinoza and Lawrence specifically encouraged people to rent life jackets, as they did, even though they brought their own innertube. They also wished they could’ve rented a paddle to better steer themselves away from the rocks and other hazards.
Espinoza said she probably wouldn’t go tubing on Clear Creek again, but Lawrence was more open to it. They both described how “if it wasn’t for the rocks, it would’ve been fine.”
‘A fun, free thing to do’
Meyer, who was visiting from Texas, and Jay Sheridan from Virginia were first-time tubers on Clear Creek. The two said they were in town for the Metallica concert and were looking for things to do. Sheridan’s cousin who lives in Longmont said they could go tubing, and recommended Golden over Boulder.
Sheridan and Meyer rented tubes at Adventure West and took the shuttle up to Clear Creek Canyon Park, and then rode their tubes down to Vanover one time. Sheridan said he’d be willing to do a second trip, but Meyer said he wanted to get feeling back in his toes first.
Despite the cold water, they felt the experience was “smooth” and “well-organized.” They said they felt safe and well-informed before their tubing adventure.
Meanwhile, Scarboro and Kerner were veteran tubers, who’ve been visiting Clear Creek for four and two seasons, respectively. They typically go tubing four or five times a season, taking roughly three trips down the creek for each visit. They said they recently bought their own tube to use in Golden and other tubing destinations.
They’d been checking the flag restrictions on Clear Creek and, when they saw tubing was allowed, they were excited to kick off their tubing season.
“It’s a fun, free thing to do,” Scarboro said, “and there aren’t many of those around.”
Scarboro and Kerner remarked how, while Clear Creek is usually quite cold because it’s snowmelt, the water seemed “super-cold” on June 28. The two normally like getting flipped out of their tube while going down the rapids, but the water temperature dampened the experience this time.
They also recommended life jackets, especially if people aren’t experienced with colder water, and said the ambassador information stands are also a good resource for newcomers.
For Lakewood’s Ben Cohen, considering it was the first summer weekend when tubing and swimming was allowed, he said, “It’s nice to see such a big turnout.” While he and his friends floated down Clear Creek in inflatable rafts, he noted how there were dozens of people along the creek cheering on and supporting the tubers.
Overall, he felt like Golden was very friendly to tubers and water sports in general.
Cohen anticipated he and his friends would return to Golden in the coming weeks, saying they’d be monitoring the water speeds and conditions to identify the best time to go rafting.
“Any time it’s over 400 (cubic feet per second), that’s a good time to come out,” he said.
Click through additional photos of Clear Creek on June 28:
On June 28, a group of rafters pass a tuber on Golden’s section of Clear Creek near the RV park. All types of water recreationalists were on Clear Creek throughout the day, as the creek was under yellow-flag restrictions. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Groups of tubers, swimmers and others gather at Golden’s Clear Creek Whitewater Park on June 28. The temperatures hit 90 degrees that afternoon, so many sought relief in Clear Creek’s icy-cold waters. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
On June 28, a City of Golden flagger stops motor vehicle traffic to allow tubers to cross Ford Street near the Golden Mill. Hundreds of tubers and other Clear Creek visitors used the crossing to go from Vanover Park back up the creek corridor. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
A group of tubers walk along the Clear Creek Trail near U.S. Highway 6. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
On June 28, people carry innertubes as they walk along the north Clear Creek Trail past Golden City Hall. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Groups of tubers, swimmers and others gather at Golden’s Clear Creek Whitewater Park on June 28. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
Looking east from the pedestrian bridge near U.S. Highway 6 on June 28, tubers float along Clear Creek with South Table Mountain’s Castle Rock visible in the background. Credit: Corinne Westeman 
On June 28, a tuber bounces along Golden’s section of Clear Creek near the U.S. Highway 6 bridge. Both Golden and Jefferson County moved to yellow-flag restrictions on June 24, unofficially kicking off Golden’s tubing season. Credit: Corinne Westeman