Gore Canyon

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The Colorado River in Gore Canyon, showing the Denver and Rio Grande Western mainline

Gore Canyon is a short isolated canyon on the upper Colorado River in southwestern Grand County, Colorado in the United States. The steep and rugged canyon, approximately 3 miles (5 km) long, was carved by the river as it passed the southern end of the Gore Range southwest of Kremmling. The Colorado descends from approximately 7300 ft to approximately 7000 ft over the length of the canyon. The steep walls ascend approximately 1000 ft on either side. The canyon effectively marks the southwestern end of the Middle Park basin in north central Colorado.

The canyon is roadless and inaccessible by most traffic, except for the mainline of the former Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (now part of the Union Pacific Railroad). Despite the short length, the canyon presented a formidable obstacle for the railroad and the building of the line through it was considered a monumental engineering achievement in its day. Although the canyon is not directly accessible by roads, it is possible to view part of the canyon from the Grand County road that passes along its southern rim, as part of the Colorado Headwaters Scenic Byway.

Gore Canyon is also famous for its wild class V whitewater. "Captain" Samuel Adams considered it unnavigable by boat during his expedition in the 1800s. The construction of the railroad has added boulders and other hazards that have since made the river even more difficult.

Today, expert kayakers frequent the canyon, and now even hold a river festival including races and other river celebrations. The Gore Canyon Whitewater Festival is held every year on the third Saturday of August and is also the host of the US National White Water Rafting Championship. Gore Canyon was first rafted in the 1970s, and now is even available as a commercial river raft trip. Most outfitters agree that Gore Canyon's whitewater is the wildest commercially available whitewater rafting in the state of Colorado, and perhaps in the nation. If you are brave enough to raft or kayak Gore Canyon, you will run rapids such as Pyrite, Tunnel Falls, and Gore Rapid. This is true wild water, so unless you are an expert river runner, Gore Canyon is considered a very dangerous section of the Colorado River.