While some people treat river rafting as if it were an amusement-park ride that they just strap into before someone hits the switch, savvier adventurers understand that it's an outdoors experience fraught with unpredictability that could put you way outside of your comfort zone. The good news is that Colorado offers quite a few rafting experiences with miles of flat water that are just right for first-timers, and this section of Clear Creek fills that bill. Just thirty miles west of Denver, the put-in at Idaho Springs for the Gold Rush segment winds through a historic mining valley for a two-and-a-half-hour float that never gets more challenging than Class III rapids, with most of the seven miles sitting solidly in the Class II range. Kids as young as six can go with the flow here, and this gentle introduction is so enjoyable that rafters of all ages will be begging for big water as soon as they hit dry land again.
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