West Canada Creek,

Big Brook to Route 8

Usual Difficulty	III (may vary with level)
Length	3.5 Miles

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
WEST CANADA CREEK NEAR WILMURT NY
usgs-01343060	600 - 10000 cfs	III	01h24m	537 cfs (rc= -0.0 )

River Description

This section of the West Canada is generally run from the bridge over Big Brook on Haskell Road to the Scenic Lookout at the Route 8 Bridge in Nobleboro. Haskell Road has a few gates which are closed in the spring and fall, but you can generally get to pothole falls (about .5 mile from Big Brook put-in) without hiking. This is a solid Class III run with a class IV (pothole falls) near the beginning. Haskell Road (a seasonal dirt road) runs parallel to the river and can be used as an escape route if needed. Most of this land is private hunting camps however, so use discretion. The put-in at Big Brook is also home to a couple Class IV creeking drops upstream from the bridge if you want to bushwhack up to them. Paddle a half mile of II-III water to pothole falls. Eddy out for this one to take a look, and notice the second hole after the falls. If the falls dont get you that hole can. The rest of the river is II-III to the confluence with the South Branch near Nobleboro Bridge on Route 8. Comments from Rob Yager: North Branch of the West Canada

Good intermediate run with outstanding scenery. Early spring the gate may be closed, so you\'re looking at a mile plus of prepaddle portage. Hopefully you can drive right up just past the ledges you can see from the dirt road and put in.

Starting at the pothole falls when hiking, may seem more appealing than starting above where you can get a 3+ ledge to warmup on before the class 4 falls. At about 3000+ cfs the falls has an \'easier\' line to the right, punch the 2 holes and do not boof too far right, look out for the stomping hole that can be easily avoided to either side.

Class 2 leads into some beautiful class 3, lots of eddies and even a real good wave on river left next to a small eddy and a big boulder.

If you have a full day, mix this one in with the South Branch first, then the North Branch and lastly the Ohio Gorge. I imagine the N. Branch would be a blast at 5000+ cfs or even up around 10,000 cfs (not unheard of). Everything would get much harder though, and the Ohio Gorge...yikes!

See you on the water...

Robert Yager See Also:

• West Canada South Branch, Fayle Road to Nobleboro
• West Canada, Ohio Gorge
• West Canada, Trenton Falls to Herkimer