Poudre River

The Cache la Poudre River is one of the most scenic and influential waterways in the West.

Preshistoric natives followed the river on their wanderings through nothern Colorado. Today, hundreds of thousands of people rely on the river for drinking water, irrigating crops, recreation, and developing communities.

The stream in northern Colorado has shaped local and national politics, influenced laws and created unending controvery.

The Poudre River flowing on a foggy early spring morning through Gateway Natural Area in the lower Poudre Canyon.

All the while, the Poudre just rolls along as the last free-following river in Colorado.

The river originates in the tiny Poudre Lake near the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado.

A small stream–so narrow you can jump across it–comes out of the lake and flows through the mountain wildness to Poudre Canyon. On the way, numerous creeks flow into the strean until it becomes a healthy whitewater river. It tumbles rapidly for 60 miles down the canyon and onto the High Plains of Colorado.

The river passes through farm and ranch lands, the cities of Fort Collins, Windsor and Greeley, and empties into the South Platte River five miles east of Greeley.The Poudre River is a popular recreation site for rafters, kayakers, hikers, wildlife watchers, and folks who just enjoy being out in Nature. Overuse of the river in the canyon has created challenges that are tough to solve.

The Poudre River played an important role in the development of western water law. Because of the scarcity of water in northern Colorado, agricultural, industrial and urban water users have been at loggerheads for more than a century over how Poudre Water should be used.

In 1986, a long stretch of the Poudre River in the canyon was protected under the federal Wild & Scenic law, making the stream the only river in Colorado to receive such protection. The designation, though, left the river in the lower canyon open for potential water storage projects.

This description barely touches on the history, value and importance of the Poudre River. 

If you have questions, please feel to send me an email at poudrewolf@aol.com.