Cedar Creek,
|
|
2 - Route 55 to Route 11
| Usual Difficulty |
I-II (may vary with level) |
| Length |
20 Miles |
Gauge Information
River Description
Cedar Creek is a classic VA novice trip with some mild Class II rapids scattered along its length.
The lower part of this 20 mile run is somewhat more interesting, as it has slightly bigger rapids
and some scenic features such as caves and a waterfall or two.
There is a low water bridge at roughly the 10 mile point that can be used as a takeout for the top
half or a putin for the bottom half. Keep in mind that although this is a pretty mellow river, 10
miles is a long way to go so give yourself plenty of daylight.
The takeout at Rt. 11 provides ample parking and a chance to check some differing RC gauges as
described above.
There is a low water bridge about a mile above Rt. 11 that creates a Class II rapid and which can
be run right. The best rapids on the river are located here and right below.
On a recent trip there was an incredible profusion of Virginia Bluebells. There are also a series
of scenic cliffs that dominate most of river left and sometimes on the right. These cliffs are full
of caves, including short one that you can paddle through.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2005-05-25 19:24:20
No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
bridge. There is a log jam blocking the channels around the large limestone rocks in midriver at
the cool rock formations and waterfall/old mill, 2 miles downstream just above the Rt 628 bridge.
After scouting it we found that we could land on the left end of the jam in the main channel drag
our boats overtop and relaunch from a well placed log in swift current just downstream. We walked
our dog around the left side. Alternatively, we could have, with great difficulty, dragged our
canoes around the left side of the rocks. There was a sizeable eddy/landing spot on the left above
the first rock. In other words you can get over or around it but this is no place for novices. No
other obstructions were encounterred. The water level was perfect and the current was swift but the
painted guage at the Rt 11 takeout appears to read too low as it read .25 ft when we set shuttle
and 0 when we took out but there was plenty of water. The guage at the low water bridge putin was
more accurate as it read 0.75 ft. The USGS hydrograph indicated the the guage near the takeout
dropped from 3.4 to about 3.2 during our trip. I've done the run at levels as low as 2.8 but it
gets a little scrapy with much slower current.
from the put in...you can actually paddle behing the waterfall. We were accompanied by otters in
this stretch who would spook the hell out of you by just poppin up right beside your boat! The easy
but fun class II rapids come in sucession....I don't remember any long stretch's of flat water at
all. You DO want to start this trip pretty early if you have a long drive home because despite the
moving water it's long haul...especially if you make stops for lunch, checking out the caves etc.