Rocky Mountain Canoe Club
- This event has passed.
Cancelled. North Platte River Exploratory Trip. June 11-13 (Sunday-Tuesday).
June 11, 2023 – June 13, 2023
Trip cancelled due to high water!
Unfortunately, projected water levels exceeding this trip’s acceptable max mean this trip must be cancelled.
This would be a trip to explore the North Platte River in 2 single day trips, with a base camp at the BLM Dugway Campground in Sinclair, Wyoming.
Paddling from Dugway to Seminole Reservoir turns out to be undoable since there are no access points along the North Platte from the Shady Rest Access until Seminole Reservoir proper which would require a long paddle across the reservoir. Day 1 would still be to paddle the I80/Ft. Steele to Dugway section. For the 2nd day, we can discuss and select a day run beforehand, see list below. Though we could also do I80 to Dugway again.
River Difficulty: Class 1. There is a checkboard of private property along the river and we cannot get out along private land. In addition, this year’s snowpack may result in June flows that are beyond our comfort level.
Location: Wyoming. Ft. Steele is just off I-80, west of the Saratoga Exit and east of the Sinclair Exit. Dugway is along CR 351 accessed from the 2nd Sinclair exit on I-80.
Mileage: from Denver, CO to Sinclair, about 250 miles and 4 hours drive time.
The Dugway Campground is a BLM campground. Camping cost is free, Reservations are not available. *The reason for the Sunday start is that the Dugway Campground is a small, free BLM campground, and we are thinking that it may get filled up on the weekend.
Overview:
Drive up on Sunday. Stop at Ft. Steele and check out the access area. Continue to drive to Dugway and setup camp. Get up on Monday, drive to Ft. Steele, shuttle, put-in and paddle to Dugway and take-out. Drive back to get the vehicles at Ft. Steele and return to Dugway for the evening. Determine next day’s plan. Get up on Tuesday and break camp. Drive vehicles to the agreed upon put-in. Shuttle vehicles to take-out. Drive back and put in, paddle to the take-out. Run shuttle. Drive home.
Boat Inspection and permits: Boats need to pass the AIS inspection. Inspection Station is located on US 287 as you enter Laramie (at the Port-of-Entry). There is also one in Cheyenne, just off I-25 and south of the I-80 interchange.
Wyoming Invasive Species Sticker required. Available online.
Maps:
Upper North Platte River Float (2020) which is online at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/
For more information and to sign up, please contact Anne: anne_fiore@yahoo.com