Join the Mile-High Club

Mile-High Beta Getting There: Take a plane, rent a car, get a map. If you can find your way to Denver, you can find your way to the water. It's simple! Logistics: Accurate information about conditions is usually readily available at local paddling shops. Be aware that Colorado's legal system has been favoring landowners in access disputes. Obey all "No Trespassing" signs, and stop by a local paddling shop for access information. Further, a couple of the more aggressive landowners have been known to string barbed wire across creeks at their property lines. Several access groups are working on the issue; learn more at www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/195. While You're There: There are a couple things to do here other than paddling. The climbing, skiing, snowboarding, and hiking are all stellar; grab the appropriate guidebook and go. Lodging: The area has hundreds of places to stay in all price ranges. Here are a few to get started: Camping: Rocky Mountain National Park, (800) 443-7837 Motel: Lazy-L-Motel, 1000 28 St., Boulder, (303) 442-7525 Hotel: Days Inn, 5397 S. Boulder Road, Boulder, (303) 499-4422, www.daysinn.com Outfitters/Resources: Boulder Outdoor Center, (800) 364-9376, www.boc123.com Colorado streamflow-information: www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/state/CO

Confluence Park and the Union Street Chutes are right in downtown Denver; urban paddling doesn't get much easier than this. Park and play and park and play and park and play ...

Up in the hills, the Cache la Poudre River, usually referred to as the Poudre and pronounced "pooter" (Fun tip No. 1: At your next party or family gathering, casually mention that you're going to Colorado to "paddle the pooter," and watch what happens). The Poudre has water ranging from Class II to V+ and is Colorado's only federally designated Wild and Scenic River. Its challenging nature and relative closeness to Denver have made it quite popular; some stretches see a fair amount of commercial raft traffic. The river and its namesake canyon (which, translated, means "hide the powder") are just outside Fort Collins and take their name from a frontier-era tale. A group of French trappers stashed their gunpowder by the creek to lighten their wagons, which were getting bogged down in a heavy snowstorm. They came back and got it later, with no intrigue or bloodshed, but the name stuck. The Class III+/IV- Lower Bridges section has attained "classic" status, but watch out for all the poison ivy along the banks.

And while the theme of the region is whitewater, there are plenty of places to dip a paddle into calm waters. Sea kayakers and canoeists looking for a little peace and quiet and some fine high-desert scenery should check out Dillon Reservoir, a little more than an hour's drive from Denver. Personal watercraft and waterskiing are not allowed, and an island in the middle of the 3,300-acre lake is a delightful little destination.

Grand Lake, at 506 acres, is the largest natural lake in the state, and borders Rocky Mountain National Park. The region is dotted with reservoirs, and many of them are open to kayakers and canoeists.

The Arapaho National Recreation Area's system of five lakes--Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain Reservoir, Monarch Lake, Willow Creek Reservoir, and Meadow Creek Reservoir--has earned it the nickname The Great Lakes of the Rockies. Camping is permitted in designated areas, and a canal provides access between Grand Lake and the Shadow Mountain Reservoir.

To get away from the crowds, though, Barr Lake is just the ticket. Just off Interstate 76, not far from Denver International Airport, it is just shy of 2,000 acres, has regulations restricting powerboats to 10-horsepower engines or less, and is a wildlife refuge. Half the lake is off-limits to all watercraft (the refuge part), but the accessible portion offers plenty of opportunities to watch the local wildlife.

And this is just the short list. Do a little research, grab your gear, and head for the mountains!