Stonycreek River

The first of two popular put-ins: the ballfield in Hollsopple which adds 1.12 mile of flatwater/warm-up prior to 'Showers', then about 1/4 mile down to the PA 601 Foustwell (Seanor) Bridge

To run 'Showers,' put on at the ballfield in Hollsopple or park at Foustwell and walk up the dirt road. The river funnels into a fast-moving wave train that spits your boat just to the right of a 'V'-shaped hole. If a paddler is on the right side of the 'V', the hole is a stopper that tends to flip many kayakers. The hole is not sticky if hit directly in the middle of the 'V', but paddlers must keep paddling a little to the left to hit the 'V' and to avoid a last minute current shift into the worst part of the hole to the right of the 'V'. Catching the eddy to the left of the 'V' is a possibility, as well, but the eddy line must be crossed completely - you don't want to bounce off of it or to lean back leading to a back ender (unless that's what you mean to do). Finally, some paddlers eddy hop down the far river right side of the rapid. There are two smaller holes just downstream and a heavy rock garden below the main rapid that paddlers can pick their way through.

Alternate spot to park and put-in for Stonycreek. You can put in here to avoid Showers, or walk up stream about a quarter mile to put in right above Showers. This will avoid the approximate 1 mile of flatter warm-up that you get when putting in at the Hollsopple Ballfield.

Right where Shade Creek joins up with the Stony, there are a couple of nice surf waves to get warmed up on that you easily access from an eddy on river right, or from the middle of the river. A good place to warm up your surfing skills for the main event downriver in 'Surf Lab.'

AKA 'Road Rapid'. At the end of the pool where Shade Creek enters, the river splits around an island. This is sometimes called 'Split Stream', or 'Road Rapid' due to the access road way on river-left.

The river-right channel around the island is the usual line, and provides a couple small boofs and eddy turns around a short, but technical boulder garden.

The river-left channel around the island can be run as well, but it can be bonier at lower water.

This rapid is packed with play spots. From the beginning of 'Test Tube Hole' (Johnson's Hole/Wave is gone, since the rock that created it moved) down to an overhead railroad bridge, there are 10 to 15 nice play spots, depending on the water level. This rapid is 1/4-mile below where Shade Creek enters the Stony on river-right.

Just downstream of a railroad bridge, this rapid begins with a long slide that ends with a nice haystack wave. Immediately after this comes 'The Locomotive' – a ledge that stretches nearly across the width of the river from river left. At mid- to high-levels, the ledge transforms into a mean hole that can reach the size of a large locomotive. The hole can be avoided easily on river-right (but not too far right--watch out for 'Atticus Rock'), and three to five great surfing waves usually form over the next 100 yards.

This rapid easily can be identified where the river splits into two channels around an island and the river left shore forms a shear wall. The left channel is the main line. Drop in at the top on river left, and follow the water down, avoiding some boulders in the bottom section. The right channel is usually very bony.

Soon after 'The Wall' you will enter a succession of rapids named the 'Three Ugly Sisters' that provide wonderful surfing at medium to high levels. The Third 'Sister' is a near-river-wide hydraulic that can be enjoyed at low levels also. There have been up to nine boats in that hole at the same time on numerous occasions.

AKA 'Rooster Tail '. The name 'Landslide comes from a Landslide that occurred a number of years ago on the river left bank down to the river. This rapid can be run to the left of a river island through a mid-sized shoot. The shoot runs along the left side of the island and has changed a little at the top due to the landslide on river left. On the other side of the island, the right channel is straightforward, but can be bony at the bottom at low water. Due to the shifting of the current at the bottom of this rapid, the rock that formed the 'Rooster Tail' (an older name for this rapid) is now out of the main current. Because of this, the name of this rapid seems to be shifting towards 'Landslide.'

The river eventually will bottleneck into a hole named 'Scout' on river-right. This hole is a play-boater’s dream at low to medium levels, but is right in the middle of the line boaters will take moving downstream. Just be sure to scout up river for any traffic before jumping in the hole.

After 'Scout' and the standing waves below 'Scout', there’s a large rectangular boulder in the middle of the river. 'Hydro Rock' is run by pointing the boat at “2:00” in front of this boulder. Depending on levels, there can be a standing wave in the middle of the drop and a nice-size hole at the bottom that can be a little sticky, followed by a large pool after the rapid. These two features can provide some of the best play-boating on the river between 4.75' (1,500 cfs) and 6.00' (3,000 cfs) on the USGS Ferndale Gauge.

Affectionately named, this rapid features one of the steepest drops on the river. Not known for play-boating, 'Beast' can flip paddlers at the top of the rapid and make them thankful they can roll back up – as a swim always ends with bumps and bruises.

After Hydro, stay right of the river island. After bending back to the left, there are two choices at the top of the rapid: left through a slot and over a pour-over, or right through a series of chicane-configured rock gardens with the possibility of a boof off a rock that juts out into the current from river right. At the bottom of the rapid is a medium-sized moving pool and perhaps some playing opportunities.

This used to be considered runnable, but the understructure is falling apart, and your boat (and body) risk unfortunate encounters with rotten boards, sharp spikes and large exposed bolts.   Portage river left.

This rapid should be scouted (easily boat scouted on river right) by first-timers and portaged on river-right if the line is not apparent. The unnatural pipeline across the river forms a potentially dangerous hydraulic in the middle which should be avoided. There is a line on river left that can usually be successfully and safely run. Start left (about 10 feet off the left shore) over the drop then make your way to the middle to avoid a nasty rock garden.

Take-out on river right just below the bridge.