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, at Creel7 Whitewater Park, lioloen, LOIOfaUU When Golden, Colo., city officials approved construction of a . e\Nater park five years ago, they figured it would attract some paddlers, 19 fans and serenity seekers. But they had no idea how big a draw it Id . be-or the economic impact it would have. Officially dedicated in June f'7:' Clear Creek Whitewater Park has become an important economic .~ in the town. that Coors built. even acting as a magnet for students ::f.!ering attending the renowned Colorado School of Mines in Golden. o "We are all shocked-city council, staff, even paddlers-by how many othere are driving down the street with kayaks on top," says Charlie In, par~andrecreati?n director for Golden. "It's just a fantastic success." A handful oH:ayakers:irlCluding pari< designer' 6ary' \:%cy.-apprGrKhed:fagan:, !ral years ago with the idea of building a whitewater park in town. Armed 1 the information they provided. Fagan convinced a somewhat skeptical city Incilto spend $165.000 in Colorado lottery proceeds to build the park. ch includes a half- :en drops ninatingin a ,.hole, slalom gates j a landscaped !rside walkway. The move has d off handsomely. recent study by . -atuS Consulting of ,ulder puts the '. on C)mic impact of e park at $1.4 llion to $2 rriilli6n nually:Pretty Ipressive when .u consider that on ey's coming 'irnarily from lddlers, people ho '1\ forego food favor of the test boat.Afterthe Golden gates: the Clear Creek Park brings in $2 million a year for the c:lty. DO I Clear Creek Vhi-tewater Festival, organizers handed city council a $2.000 check to' help lith repairs and maintenance on the course,The park's success has . rompted Fagan to begin developing plans that ~()uld more than double~- luarter-mile length. extending it through downtown and to the edge of ._, :oors' operations ( a convenient take-out.) . The park may also become a legal bellWether. Last summer, Gofden oughtlegal claim to what's called recreational instream flow of as much as ,.000 cfs through the park during the peak season of May-July. The city took :hat step to prevent any upstream water rights holder from building a 'e s e rvoir or diversion that would diminish flows through the course. After 'esolving ariy objections from upstream and downstream water rights 10 I deI's, Golden prevailed in a Colorado trial court only to find the issue Colorado Water Conservation Board. A ruling's not expected for at least year, says Dan Hartman. the ~ity's Public Works director. A win by Golden ~ the appeals level would prOVide legal ammunition for scores of other Colorado municipalities hoping to reap the same benefrts. Info: www,cityofgo/den.netlrentalslwhitewaterlwhitewaterhtm. -Stormy Colman -*",Yampa River, Steamboat Springs, Colorado .%' Thanks to efforts by a group of paddling-in-the-b1ood localS. Steamboat Springs, with the Yampa River flowing right through town, recently upgraded .. ..its su~ng sta!ure Yo'[th a ne~ playhole just downstream of the library. Though the nver has already been Improved over the years. complete with'a slalom course and several playholes sprinkled throughout town, the most recent addition is the real deal, and another notch on the paddle shaft of river pari< designer Gary Lacy. For less than $20,000, including local donations of boulders, engineering and even excavating, the town now has a playhole that should extend its season well into summer. "It's a _. perfect location for the feature," says Lacy. who worked on the course Over a long weekend last November. "It has plenty of water flow, gradient and easy accessibility." Interest in creating the new playhole arose in spring 200 I when proceeds from the Fat CIty Showdown kayak rodeo, sponsored by Fat Eddy's Threadworks and Paddler magazine, were put into a fund . 0_._. administered .by the City. Radio and print ads asking for local support helped - . . more funds trickle. into the account all matched by the City. When the . numbers.reached the magic amount companies such as Native Excavating stepped up to the plate and the plans were drawn. "It was a real community effort" says. tl:1e City's Chris Amis, one of the first people to "test" the nf!:W . hole on a cold November moming. "And it's amazing-that it all came together so quickly-'-Once everything was in place. the whole thing was -'built in about four days." Though the new hole has yet to be named, expect it to follow a similar theme of playspots upstream. which carry such names as A-hole and Double Z. Info: (970) 879-6249, --edb