United States Canyon
Platte Canyon
250 m of rock, cut by the South Platte River.
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30
The cut
250 metres, to scale.
A slice through Platte Canyon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.
250m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
18.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
23°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
1,662m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
5 °C warmer at the bottom.
In July the afternoon reaches 33 °C on the floor, against 28 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in May and in October. The rim freezes at night from November to April. The wettest months are from April to May and from July to August.
- 7°2°Jan
- 8°3°Feb
- 13°8°Mar
- 18°13°Apr
- 23°18°May
- 31°26°Jun
- 33°28°Jul
- 31°26°Aug
- 27°22°Sep
- 19°14°Oct
- 12°8°Nov
- 6°2°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Canyon along the South Platte River in Douglas and Jefferson counites in Colorado, United States
Platte Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the South Platte River. The relief model measures 250 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 755 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 19 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Roxborough Parknearest town · 2.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,390 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.9 km from the floor
- Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 47 km in a straight lineCar hire at BJC airport (Denver)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In May and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The South Platte River runs highest from April to June.
The South Platte River carries about 7.7 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to June, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from November to February.
- 4.4 m³/sJan
- 7.7 m³/sFeb
- 16 m³/sMar
- 23 m³/sApr
- 29 m³/sMay
- 25 m³/sJun
- 21 m³/sJul
- 16 m³/sAug
- 14 m³/sSep
- 9.6 m³/sOct
- 5.5 m³/sNov
- 3.1 m³/sDec
From about 3.1 m³/s in the lowest month to 29 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 6,812 km².
The South Platte River from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
6 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 1viewpoints within 5 km
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmColorado Front Range Trail, ADT - Colorado B - P - Seg 2, Colorado Trail
- 3footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 49car parks within 3 km
- 3information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 2campsites within 8 kmChatfield Campground, Group Campground
- 1hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmCody's Place
- 1restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
- bus stops within 2 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Roxborough Park2.2 km in a straight line
- Ken Caryl10 km in a straight line
- Columbine12 km in a straight line
- Highlands Ranch14 km in a straight line
- Dakota Ridge15 km in a straight line
- Littleton16 km in a straight line
- Southglenn17 km in a straight line
- Castle Pines North18 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Platte Canyon.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Riveryas7 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas25 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas3 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 7 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 31 | 33 | 31 | 27 | 19 | 12 | 6 |
| Afternoon · rim | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 26 | 28 | 26 | 22 | 14 | 8 | 2 |
| Night · rim | -10 | -10 | -6 | -3 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 6 | -1 | -6 | -10 |
| Rain (mm) | 17 | 22 | 34 | 51 | 58 | 42 | 62 | 52 | 36 | 30 | 18 | 19 |
| Rainy days | 5 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Sun hours/day | 6.6 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 11.1 | 10.8 | 10.1 | 9.6 | 8.1 | 7.1 | 6.2 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 17 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 16 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 2 | -10 | 17 | 6.6 |
| Feb | 8 | 3 | -10 | 22 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 13 | 8 | -6 | 34 | 8.3 |
| Apr | 18 | 13 | -3 | 51 | 9.0 |
| May | 23 | 18 | 2 | 58 | 9.5 |
| Jun | 31 | 26 | 9 | 42 | 11.1 |
| Jul | 33 | 28 | 12 | 62 | 10.8 |
| Aug | 31 | 26 | 11 | 52 | 10.1 |
| Sep | 27 | 22 | 6 | 36 | 9.6 |
| Oct | 19 | 14 | -1 | 30 | 8.1 |
| Nov | 12 | 8 | -6 | 18 | 7.1 |
| Dec | 6 | 2 | -10 | 19 | 6.2 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (1,662 m) and the rim (2,417 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 43% | 187% | 127% | 57% | 68% | 102% | 61% | 45% | 62% | 40% | 118% | 112% |
| 2021 | 60% | 133% | 217% | 96% | 166% | 100% | 107% | 43% | 71% | 36% | 30% | 75% |
| 2022 | 143% | 107% | 123% | 20% | 123% | 50% | 112% | 127% | 69% | 48% | 88% | 165% |
| 2023 | 138% | 70% | 49% | 80% | 239% | 301% | 93% | 126% | 107% | 66% | 70% | 118% |
| 2024 | 111% | 178% | 162% | 118% | 66% | 51% | 56% | 115% | 64% | 33% | 288% | 56% |
| 2025 | 152% | 94% | 116% | 51% | 150% | 146% | 70% | 111% | 139% | 40% | 50% | 88% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Platte Canyon
United States
- 250 mDepth
- 19 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 23°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q7202480) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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