Ran this route yesterday at 5.2 what a great run the staircase was a blast.

Man everyone is staking a claim on something here. As a guide from the original outfitter no longer
in business and having run this stretch in the thousands of times, it can be run at any level seen
in the last 35 years by any boat. If you want to enjoy a scenic and historic stretch of river, go
to it. Crowds on weekends from Mem Day to August will be very heavy. Go in fall or winter for
solitude. Water from 2 feet up is entertaining and from 4 upward is sporty. This is a classic canoe
river and still beautiful after all these years - don't trash it. Edit

The Shenandoah is a fun run to learn on, i have been guiding this river since i was 15 and have now
started training on the Cheat. I've run boats of 6 plus me down into the low inches and its really
not that hard...hardly any whitewater but it will teach you how to steer a boat like nowhere else.
The staircae has a very easy line as long as you dont get off track. To anyone who wants to bag on
this river, go out and paddle it above 10 feet before you talk trash. It is a fun river and it is
perfect for beginner paddlers. This is where i learned to paddle and its where my children will
learnto paddle. And as for the put in situation, i can pretty much speak for all the outfitters
when i say that if you look like you know what you're doing and you can find place to park out of
the way of the bus loop, we will let you put on at our putin. Don't judge everyone because of a few
bad eggs..we're all out here to have a good time. Happy Paddling. Edit

UPDATE!!!!! WARNING!!!!!!! NOW THE RAFT COMPANY HAS BEGUN CALLING THE COPS/PARK RANGERS IN HARPERS
FERRY ON ANYONE THAT USES THEIR PUT-IN AREA AND THE RANGERS ARE WRITING CITATIONS. I GUESS THEY
DON'T WANT ANYONE ELSE ON THE RIVER HAVING FUN OR CUTTING INTO THEIR PROFITS.....GREAT NEIGHBORS
THE RAFT COMPANY HAS BECOME!!!!! THEIR CLAIM IS THAT THE RIVER IS TOO CROWDED AND PARKING IS A
PREMIUM. I UNDERSTAND THAT AND IT'S TRUE BUT ONLY BECUASE THEY HAVE EXPANDED SO MUCH TO SHIP IN
THOUSANDS OF "CLIENTEL" EACH WEEKEND AT THE EXPENSE OF LOCALS/FAMILIES WHO HAVE HAD GENERATIONS OF
ENTHUSIASTS ENJOYING THIS SECTION OF THE RIVER UNTIL NOW. GOOD LUCK GETTING OUT ON THE RIVER HERE.
APPARENTLY IT'S FOR RIVER RAFTER'S USE ONLY. *ummmmm, well, dude, the raft companies like pay to
like lease the putin. maybe that has something ti do with the "PRIVATE PROPERTY" signs. If i wanted
to play badmitten in your back yard i think you might have something to say. try the public put in
upstream, duh. ~tk *the rafting company charges $3. for the first boat and $2 for each additional
boat to use their put-in. That's a lot cheaper than any law dog ticket. Edit

Ran this section today at 5.15 water level and it was a blast in inflatable Tomcats. The first and
last rapids were approaching class IV at this level. No dangerous snags or strainers encountered on
our trip. Edit

Dash hole is on the potomac, in 100yd dash (if its after the confluence... its the potomac), as to
the river guides, not all are aholes, question is what were you doing? Sometimes after a long day
and people not paying attention to river right of way.. I dont know what experience you had, but
Ive had to use "raft coming through" with people clogging up chutes and in some areas of the doah
as any seasoned paddler knows there may only be 1 way. Upstream larger crafts have right of way..
and when you have 6 people in 1 ft of water, you are definitely less maneuverable.. but trust us,
if you have some "fly tricks" we'd love to see em as well. We enjoy fun. Its an amazing learning
river... will beat you up but teach you to read water like no other. The descriptions on this page
are far from accurate as to the rapids... Rubber can be pushed til under 1ft. Edit

I just started guiding on this river and I enjoy it, it definatly is not a hard river to run most
of the time. Its a great river for a family with small kids to go on. When its at high water like
around 10 feet or so its alot of fun. Could somebody tell me where dash hole is ive nvr heard of
it. o and the rock to jump of is called beer can rock. the 4th chute of bull falls that is pictured
with the strainer is called suicide chute. O and dont lump all of us together as aholes some of the
guides are but most of them arnt. But this river is great for learning.

Don't fool yourself...this is not a pure whitewater run.....and as far as the guides that work this
area they have always been a-holes since I was a little kid....everyone of them thinks they are
some sort of pro...this river isn't even that difficult here...the only reson that buisness exsists
is to cater to the rich a-holes that are moving west from Fairfax and destroying the area. Either
way this is a fun run low or high......if it's low you grab a bunch of beer and sit in Bull Falls
all day as it turns into a hot tub at low levels in the summer time.......if it's higher water than
you might have some decent rapids.....also look for a jumping rock around the take out us locals
call the "Warshing Machine". You'll recognize it as the spot where everyone is getting drunk,
usually lotsa mullets, and probably a 18year old girl draggin her baby around and 8 months
pregnant. Sucks cause the rednecks trash the place (beer cans and the like) but a fun spot to hang
in the summer either way... just avoid the raft guides as those of us who grew up in the area don't
care for thier pretentious attitudes. Believe me the rednecks are nicer!

you all have gotta be kiddin me. we run commercial trips down this until it is under 1ft. that's
boats of 6 and a guide. you don't know what technical is. and as for the high end of running this
river, it doesn't get class 4 characteristics until it hits double digits. its hardly worth gettin
off the couch if you arn't gettin paid to do it unless it is above 5ft. --LP rules-- team HF

After running this at 1.8 I have mixed feelings about the minimum level. The section from Millville
to the railroad bridge was painfully low. But the staircase has some ok play at these low levels.
The hardest thing about the lower flow is avoiding the drunks in inner tubes. I believe the rapid
called whitehorse, the last one above the river right takeout had the best play. I'm going to echo
John Dukes comment that the minimum should be raised to two feet, with a note that it can be run
lower by the truely desperate.

I honestly think the 1.5 minimum is to low.. bull falls is the only rapid with any fun at
all!!!
The staircase can take 45 minutes to pick through at this level
Lets stick with wild water west va. minimum of 2.0 for a minimum