St. Joseph,

East Race Whitewater Course (0.35 mile)

Brian out of his kayak and in Dan's canoe?

Brian out of his kayak and in Dan's canoe?
Photo of Brian by Dan Koontz taken 7-?-00

River Description

The east race has some good play spots, most eddys are small and kind of pulsing but all the best play spots have a fair eddy by them. There are side walks and bridges all along the race for viewing and also to walk your boat back to the top. Its a good place to learn a lot of things that will help you when you get a chance to hit a real river.During the summer hours just show up and pay your money and paddle, one of the few places you can go and have rescue people ready to help you if you need it. There are lots of good paddlers at the race and most are more than willing to help out the new boaters if they want it. The race drops about 12 feet which if it went a mile would be around 30 foot per mile of drop, all drops are small so it stays pretty fast all the way down..

For 2009, the course will be open June 13 - August 9, Saturday 12:00pm - 5:00pm and Sunday 1:00pm - 5:00pm, Eastern Daylight Time (paddlers coming from Wisconsin and Illinois need to recognize this is a one-hour shift from Central Time.)

Go to South Bend Parks - East Race for the current details.