08. Poudre Park Picnic Site to below Pineview Falls Wild

This reach of the Poudre River flows through the community of Poudre Park and there are several bridges that you will need to avoid. The two largest rapids are in the last mile just above the takeout. The first is Cardiac Corner (IV), which boats easier than it looks like from upstream. This rapid cannot be seen from the road, and it has a scary looking overhanging/undercut rock at the bottom, and it tends to intimidate intermediates and paddlers who float into it unaware. Shortly downstream is Pineview Falls (IV), just upstream of the falls on river left is the Poudre River Pineview gauge. This gauge is hand-painted on a rock on river left above Pineview Falls. A local boater reads the gauge and posts it on his website at www.poudrerockreport.com most mornings during the boating season. Pineview Falls has a couple of large holes, so pick your line carefully and hang on for the ride! Above 4', Pineview is a powerful rapid and the big hole is best avoided by a right to left line. For descriptions of Colorado runs, see Whitewater of the Southern Rockies by Stafford and McCutchen, or Colorado Rivers and Creeks by Banks and Eckert. See also: Big South (Class V/VI), Joe Wright Creek (Class V), Spencer Heights (Class V/VI), South Fork (Class IV/V), White Mile Run/Upper Rustic (Class III), Grandpa's Gorge/Lower Rustic (Class III/IV), The Narrows (Class IV/V/V+), Upper Mishawaka (Class III/IV), Lower Mishiwaka (Class III), Poudre Park (Class IV), Bridges (Class III/IV), Upper North Fork (Class IV/V), Lower North Fork (Class II/III), and Filter Plant (Class III).