Dead,
|
|
Tourist Park Falls: CR 550 Bridge (0.3 miles)
| Usual Difficulty |
III-IV (may vary with level) |
| Length |
0.3 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
60 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
60 fpm |
Falls Overview
Falls OverviewPhoto of D. Cowell @ 350
River Description
This is a "newly created" reach due to a flood in May 2003. The flood caused the river to bypass
around a dam creating around a thirty foot drop in about a third of a mile. The run is easy to
access, as it runs underneath the CR 550 bridge in Marquette. Just park and carry up to the
top.
The run starts with Tourist Park falls. Only been run twice to my knowledge, the falls are a
chaotic twenty-ish foot drop. Many lines exist. The easiest is one seen in the attached picture.
It involves an approach from far river left. A large tongue exists in the middle of a monster
hydraulic. This will rocket you down the final slide and into an eddy which is really more of a
whirlpool. The "whirlpool" will most likely take you straight into the hydraulic on river right,
so paddle hard if you want to avoid it. The rest of the run is a very easy class II-III jaunt
(depending on water levels). Many opportunities for play exist (although at any level under 500
cfs the run is fairly shallow and could punish rolls and/or swims).
Overall, this is a great park and huck/ park and play section. It can be easily combined with a
run on the Upper Dead, Marquette Carp, Yellow Dog, or other local runs.
The resolution on Google Maps for this area is excellent. Therefore, we highly recommended going
to the 'Map' tab, clicking 'Satellite', zooming in to the maximum resolution available (without
losing image), to have a fine 'virtual look' at this reach!
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2009-05-10 07:50:23
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
boatable well below with accomodating flows as low as 80 CFS. A word of caution, however, that when
the flow is low enough the giant slide is a very difficult accomplishment. Due to the sloping
nature of the rock without sufficient speed at a river left angle gravity will pull your boat down
and river right into a large rock pourover. While scary, the rock serves as a "ski jump" and
effectively auto-boofs your boat. I do not recommend trying to attain this line in higher water,
but when it's an inevitability in flows as low as 85 and less it can be a really fun ride.
Also, there has recently been some clearing work done on the far river right turbulent step down
falls and with a hundred or so CFS might yield some interesting new lines. As of now these falls
get run quite a bit by myself and at least one other boater in the area.
Though the falls proper are massively enjoyable at lower levels, and far less punishing than your
typical low level hydraulic due both the deepness of the pool and the less than frightening force I
don't recommend getting stuck directly in the hydraulic as it could end quite painfully. However
with the lower levels it's quite easy to punch through the hole. Lastly, in lower level flows about
the only worthwhile features are the falls and I don't recommend even trying to boat about the
stretch of river underneath the bridges in a flow any lower than 80 CFS. Even as low as 90 there
are a few small waves and other features that can yield some interesting, albeit tiny, play
options, and, as I mentioned, the falls are always fun.