Arkansas River Valley

US 50 runs up the Arkansas River Valley from Canon City to Salida. Portions of the route are more canyon than valley. Lots of curves to keep your touring motorcyclist happy. The Arkansas River is a favorite for whitewater river-rafting and numerous outfitters are more than happy to take you for a day's float, although you'll need to start upstream toward Salida.

This stretch of the Arkansas is where Christo, the artist famous for wrapping entire buildings and draping fabric over numerous other large objects, is planning to cover nearly 7 miles of the river in what is referred to as the Over the River project. That project was originally scheduled for this year but delays getting approvals have put it off till who knows when, if it ever happens.

There is one motorcycle-accessible campground along this stretch, Rincon Recreation Site, just west of the tiny town of Howard, and east of Swissvale.

Here are some shots from along the canyon, running upstream from Canon City toward Salida. The last shot of the bunch was provided by Andy Simons, so I’m not quite sure where in the sequence it actually would belong. Thanks for sending it Andy.

Click an image to bring up a larger view; arrow through the images; click on a large image to close it.