I've run the section from just before the Dam at Starbuckville down to the rapid pictured here by
the road on Schroon River Road. I really struggled to find notes about the river before running it
and for the sake of others I thought I'd give a few notes on running that 'top' section. I work at
a local summer camp where we wanted to find some really exciting water for kids aged 12-14 to be
able to do, thankfully they learnt quickly and did great on this section. (We're planning to run
the lower section on Tuesday August 11th - I'll let you know how it goes!) Dam is usually busy with
fishermen but you can practise ferry gliding, which is what we do with our kids here. You continue
down stream for a few minutes before you see the bridge ahead of you. From a view in a lower eddy
it clearly is rocky in lower waters but if you stick FAR right, close to the bridge pillar there is
a nice smooth run down into the waves below. The drop isn't big but bigger than it looks from
above. We've had no problems there and you could easily run it river left if you were looking for a
bumpier ride. After the rapid, another section of river joins across the right eddy into the pool.
I'm not 100% sure where the river comes from but there is a rapid there which can be run if you
took your boat up to the top. It's easier than the main channel under the bridge but probably more
rocky, especially in lower water. Again we practise ferry gliding across this section. You continue
down river some way, over some very small ripples and the river bends left. You will see a very
nice holiday home with private beach on the left. We stopped for a sneaky lunch break there but I
wouldn't if you saw life in the house. Just round the corner is the next big rapid. With 3 sections
grade 2-3, this is definitely fun fun fun. The river will bend around again to the left. As you see
the first ripples you can pull out river left but it will involve hiding you boat in some trees and
I really don't think an open canoe would fit in there. It is possible and I would recommend to
paddle JUST past the ripples staying far left and pull into a beach just round the corner if you
need to go and set someone up with a throwbag lower down. The first rapid is the biggest water and
should be run river left down the green chute, there is a reasonably sized eddy river left where we
stop before going for rapid 2. Warning though: The land on river left where we stand with throwbags
is definitely private property and so far we've only been asked to move on once on the land just
past rapid 2 but since then we've tried to keep hidden and been okay. There is a big rock on the
left bank we stand on with throwbags just above rapid 2 in case of any accidents at rapid 1. Rapid
2 is much easier but just rocky. There is an island in the middle of the river which splits the
rapid at number 2. We paddled the left channel which is easier to portage - we saw no real options
for bank support on the whole section on the right. On the actual run (river left) there is a rock
right in the middle which we stuck close to it's right side before moving river left to avoid
another big rock in the middle of the river. Eddy left is good to stop after and the pool below is
sizable enough in case of swims. I actually paddled back up the rapid on sticking close to the
island in the middle and was able to get out and look over to the other side of the river over the
island. It definitely looks runable just rocky. Probably much easier in higher water to avoid the
rocks. The water was fairly high when we were there and as I said, it looked okay. The third rapid
is the longest and great fun. Ferry glide across the river as you really want to go down it towards
river right. Lower down on the left are some big rocks even at higher water but centre-ish is okay
too. It is rather a long section but the bottom is visible and there is a great flat pool at the
bottom to pick up swimmers. The view from the eddy bottom right back up to the eddy at the top on
river left is limited but if you position yourself right there is just enough room to raise a
paddle for an 'ok' signal. From the pool you head right and endure a rather boring flat section
heading under the bridge before eventually arriving at the rapid you have described here. We've
taken the kids here a few times and they've all loved it as an intro to whitewater. Surf waves on
the bottom rapid were rockin'. Edit

On "Big Drop" there is an aluminum canoe at the lip of the drop that is wrapped around a rock. It
is not clearly visable at 3.5 ft. Do not run river right as there is a rope running fron the canoe
on that side. It may be attatched to an anchor. The canoe has flushed and been removed Edit

The warning applies mainly to open boaters, who may be at risk of swamping and taking long swims in
the Schroon rapids. I ran the Schroon in OC-1 on 7-1-09. The level was about 3.8, enough that I
seldom even clipped a rock in the rapids. I put in river-right below the modern hwy bridge and the
dam. The first rapid, under a RR bridge, was well covered with water. Several routes were possible,
but some quick maneuvers were needed. Kind of a class 2+. The only other rapid of consequence on
the upper part of the run began with some twisty waves and holes, allowed a brief chance to decide
which side of an island to run. I ran left, but after stopping on the left bank, I saw the bigger
waves right of the island had no special hazards. The rapid continued with heavy waves for a total
length of about a quarter mile. There were few opportunities for an open boater to struggle to the
bank and bail. Most tandem open boats and even many ww OC-1s might swamp and have to swim a long
way to the pool below. I would have to class this as a low 3 because of the somewhat complex entry,
the potential for swamping, and the poor options for recovery without swimming a long rapid. I do
agree with the river info author that there is too much flatwater unless the intermediate put in is
used. While the rapid described above has wave surfing potential and is fun to run, it is too
similar to the rapids below the intermediate put-in. I had no difficulty with the "class 3 minus"
or the nearly mile long "class 2" by virtue of my paddling a Millbrook OC-1 that runs dry. But
again, most tandems and some WW OC-1s would take a lot of water in these rapids, and there are few
opportunites to eddy out and dump or pump out a boat. As for the class 3 Big Drop, I did not see a
good place to stop and scout. Also, going to the extreme right to enter the rapid did not look
workable, but entering rignt of center worked well, and after that it was just another long ride in
strong waves. The different hazard level on this section is related to the capabilities of kayaks
(I am also a kayaker) versus open canoes. The river info author's rapid classifications are in line
with current practice, but the length of the rapids and the difficulty of landing along the way to
bail or dump will make these rapids look a bit different to open boaters.

Using the alternate lower put-in, the length of the run is shortened to a little over 3 miles.