Salida, CO - website - contact: tpalka@gmail.com & jmallett@chaffeecounty.org
Arkansas River
• City population 5,500
• Made by: Recreational Engineering and Planning
• Home of the FibArk River Festival
• Length: 1200ft
• 2 features
• Class II-III
• Open year round
• River bed: modified
Economic benefits in Salida, CO correlate to the increased number of visitors, staying in hotels and spending money in local restaurants and in shops.
Arkansas River Whitewater Park, Salida, Colorado, 1999-Present: Chief planner, designer, and engineer of a plan funded by the Arkansas River Trust. Natural-appearing whitewater improvements restore the river, and provide economic and recreational benefits to the downtown area. A key aspect of the project includes whitewater course improvements at the site of the longest-running whitewater kayak race in North America, FibArk. Phase II, completed in 2003 is highlighted by the tieing in of an existing city park to the greenways project in a mammoth bank enhancement effort. Further improvements include a new intermediate level playhole/wave that is proving to be even more popular than the pro-rodeo hole just upstream.
In the spring of 2000 the
Arkansas River Trust undertook a small river improvement
project on the Arkansas in Salida. Thanks to the generous
donation of materials and labor from of a local contractor,
The Arkansas River Trust oversaw in-stream and bank
improvements. This first project created a more appealing
and accessible site for both spectators and whitewater
paddlers alike.
This improvement gave the community an exciting glimpse of
the future. The Arkansas River corridor in downtown Salida
has historically been one of the least attractive and least
accessible sections of the Arkansas. Pinched between, a now
abandoned, switching yard and rail road depot on one side
and homes on the other; the banks of the Arkansas have been
used as a dumping ground for concrete, building materials
and all manner of trash and debris. The Arkansas River
Whitewater Park and Greenway project represented an
opportunity to take this neglected corridor and
re-integrate the river into downtown Salida and into the
collective heart of our community.
