Arkansas River is the closest about an hour to put-in, with Royal Gorge (class IV) and Parkdale (Class III+) being the closest sections. Difficulty will rise with the water.
11 Mile Canyon is next closest, but doesn't run often. Class III-IV with a class V start and a V+ finish. Skip both class Vs if needed and still have a great day.
Deckers/North Fork of South Platte/Waterton Canyon about 1 1/2 hour away, about same distance as 11 Mile. Class II-III, III-IV, and III-IV, respectively. Difficutly will be on the higher ratings with higher water. All will be boney at low water, but very runnable.
2 hour drive will get you to Upper sections of the Arkansas River. Granite Section, Numbers, Fractions/FrogRock, Browns Canyon. IV-V, IV, III+/III,III-IV.
Bailey Canyon (on North Fork of hte South Platte. It's about 2 1/2 hours away. Classs V. If you are clas IV, you can portage the 3 class Vs.
Not sure what level boater you are, but I could show you the lines on any of the above.
If you want steep creeks, there are one or two near or fairly near to all of the above. I'd like to see those as well, but we'd need a guide. Not hard to find.
Clear Creek flows into Golden. about 2 hours. Class III, IV, or V, depending on what sections you float. It ends at the Whitewater park in Golden; a great place to meet LOTS of boaters most any day. It's common to hook up with trips upstream here.
About 45 minutes north on highway 93, you start hitting the Boulder drainages. Class III,IV,V and lots of stuff but I'm not so familier with that.
Anyway, Pikes Peak Whitewater Club is in Colorado Springs. This is where I met many kayaking freinds. They will be having a pool sessions, the best place to meet people. Their web site is
http://www.pikespeakwhitewaterclub.com/ and they also have a message posting site
http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/p_p_w_c
Hope this helps. Keep in touch and remind us when you get into town.
Ed Hansen
ps... I'm always looking for people to paddle with when the water is still low, so find me here when you get here.