The Gore Canyon Festival is the premiere whitewater event in Colorado. Focused around the Class V downriver race through its namesake Gore Canyon on the upper Colorado River, GoreFest has brought the worlds elite whitewater athletes, families, anglers and river enthusiasts together for an awesome end of season event that celebrates the upper Colorado River.

 

In addition to the famous Class V downriver race through Gore Canyon, the event also includes a family fun float through class II/III Hartman Canyon (aka Little Gore Canyon), a freestyle rodeo at the Gore Canyon Whitewater Park, and SUP downriver and cross races.  

 

Festival amenities, including camping, food, and entertainment, are located at Rancho del Rio, 10 miles downstream of the BLM's Pumphouse Recreation Site.  We encourage competitors and attendees to join the festival at Rancho del Rio, where we will be coordinating event logistics and registration, shuttles, and hosting movies, live music, food and drinks, and all things fun! 

 

We need Gore Fest volunteers to help with event setup, parking, on-site registration, the entrance gate, and the Green Team! If you are interested, please fill out our online volunteer survey. Volunteers get free entrance to the event, a free t-shirt, and dedicated volunteers will be entered in a volunteer-only raffle! 

 

We are also looking for Class V safety boaters! The Class IV-V downriver race through Gore Canyon relies on an experienced and dedicated River Safety Team to ensure the safety of all race participants. Please see our Safety Team Survey for more information and to apply for the Team. Safety Team members receive all the same benefits as general event volunteers. 

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American Whitewater is heavily invested in the protection of the Colorado River, and has negotiated flows for Gore Festival, long-term flow protection through BLM and Forest Service management planning, and played a critical role in securing the Gore Canyon whitewater park or Recreational In-Channel Diversion (RICD), which gives boating flows in the Colorado River legal protection under State water law.  AW is also the leading representative of the recreational community on the Upper Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholders group where flows for the Colorado River are negotiated by AW and our stakeholders.  American Whitewater is presenting the Gore Festival to celebrate this beautiful place we work hard to protect, and as an opportunity for paddlers, industry, and partners to enjoy and support our cooperative stewardship efforts.

 

 

GoreFest now has events for everyone. With the Gore Canyon Races as our main event, we now offer freestyle rodeo events, a SUP cross and downriver race, and a encourage families to float Hartman Canyon during this festival weekend. Here are a few of the competitions being offered:

 

Short and Long Boat K-1: Downriver Sprint through Gore Canyon.

The starting line is standard, at the gear up rock at the top of Fisherman’s Nightmare.  The finish line is at the bottom of Kirschbaum. The race will begin at noon at Saturday, long boats first. The race will start with 1 minute intervals.  

 

 

Raft Team Downriver Sprint through Gore Canyon:  

The raft race will start after all kayaks.

 

 

Stand Up Paddle Cross at Pumphouse:

This is a Stand Up Paddle Battle Royal on the Colorado River From Launch 1-2. Multiple heats through the new whitewater feature with multiple obstacles to navigate. SUP cross will start at 1pm on Saturday at Pumphouse. Shuttles will bring competitors from Rancho del Rio to Pumphouse and back.

 

 

Downriver SUP Sprint and Marathon (11’ board maximum) from Pumphouse:

Starting line is located at Launch 3 at the BLM Pumphouse Recreation Area. Downriver Sprint and Marathon SUP races will start simultaneously. Racers will sprint through Little Gore Canyon and finish at the CO Hwy 11 Bridge at Radium. Shuttles will transport racers to Pumphouse and return racers to Rancho del Rio from the finish at Radium. 

 

 

Freestyle Rodeo - Kayak at Pumphouse: Round one will take place at 11am Sunday. The final round will be held at 2pm after the SUP downriver races. 

 

 

Freestyle Rodeo - Other at Pumphouse: Anything but kayaks goes! Rafts, duckies, SUP, floaties...Round one will take place at 11am Sunday after the kayaks. The final round will be held at 2pm after the final round for the kayak rodeo. 

 

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