Sandy Creek,

US Route 11 to Route 3 (North Sandy Creek)

Gauge Information

River Description

We ran this in the summer of 2008 (when we were getting hammered with rain and the Black was up around 8 or 9 grand in July and August). Great run, but here are some notes to consider (both good and bad)

• -After heavy rains the river is full of runoff from the local farms. You and your gear will smell like cow manure.
• -The level drops fast, if you put on with just enough, you probably won't have enough at the end.
• -Every drop is fairly forgiving. No real hazards. I didn't see a single strainer the entire time.
• -The first drop is steeper on the right and more like a slide in the center. If you want to run a ledge, hug the river right shore.
• -The big drop in the middle of the run has a fun ledge in the middle. Stay straight and boof the boat of the guy who didn't!

Even with the crap smell, I'd run this one again.

There's an alternate putin downstream of Thomas Settlement, at County Roads 91 and 82 (43.802788,-76.081524). Dan adds:
"When we were getting ready, a property owner from down the street told us that we were on his property. Now where we were was barely a shoulder before dropping into the river, so I believe that we were within our legal right to park and access the river there. But the guy turned out to be really nice and just wanted us to ask next time. He lives in the white house downstream on the right (I think). So it might be good to stop by and speak with him."

Mo beta from Dan,:

"I would say class II-III, though it's tough to say really. Most of the drops you can dodge the holes, but there are two drops that go vertical (or can go vertical if you're in the right spot). One thing to note would be the lack of eddies. I only have pictures of the flats because there were not that many places to stop and take pictures of the good stuff. By the time I found an eddy I was very far downstream. Everything is boat scoutable, especially if you have a willing probe. Ours was Frank and a friend in a two-person sea kayak. You know you're going to have fun when the giant sea kayak exits a hole in a completely different trajectory than it entered! Accounting for all of that I would say that someone with class II-III skills would be okay, but it's not a river I would feel comfortable taking someone with no roll, but only because I don't want to spend the day chasing their crap down the river. Really there are no dangers that I could see. It is shallow even at higher water, but the bottom is solid bedrock with very few rocks or boulders. Maybe class II+ to III- would be more accurate. (I'm a solid class III-IV boater and I had a fun day, but nothing was too hard or challenging, mainly just fun).

"About levels, I think that we put on at around 2k-3k cfs, but it was dropping fast. Frank said that the difficult thing about the North Branch is that it has a very small range that would be worth running. Too low and you'll be wheelchairing the entire day. Too high and everything washes out. Though I'd imagine that the big drop would get very interesting (aka terrifying holes of cow manure water and long swims in cow manure water), but that wouldn't make the whole trip worth it. The water will be very think with sediment and look deep, but in reality it is only 6-12" at the most. All of the drops are about finding where the water is going putting yourself there, and with the right level you can run anything anywhere."

Note: Squires' book rates this I-V, but nothing in the description says anything about V drops.

Lat/longitude coords are approximate, from TopoZone.