Clear Creek Opens To Tubers Early This Year!

Clear Creek, which runs through the heart of Golden, Colorado is open to tubers and kayakers much earlier than usual this year. I took the photograph above of a tuber and his kids this past Monday. They had the creek all to themselves that afternoon, but the scene will be much different this weekend, when everyone is off work and the temperatures will soar to almost 90 degrees. Of course, there is a downside to this favorite recreational activity beginning early: it is happening because of the lack of snow this past season in Colorado and other western states. With a much smaller snowpack, there has been much less melt off, which usually causes Clear Creek to rise and the water to run fast, making conditions too dangerous to be on the river. Getting a few weeks more tubing in this year is a high price to pay for water shortages and increased wildfire danger. It might very well be a long long summer this year.