Chester to Pottersville (Black River)Class III-IV
5.8 Miles approximately
Avg Gradient 71 fpm
Max Gradient 100 fpm
There are drops too
There are drops too Photo of Brad Atkins by Stephen Strange taken May 96 @ 2.6' Gauge Information
Lamington
Chester to Pottersville III-IV
River Description
StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2008-09-29 21:01:24
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The onsite gauge is the staff gauge of the USGS gauging station (on Black River Rd.). It is on river right, at the crest of the gauging station weir. You may have to bush wack through about 5' of brush to get a look at it.
Ed Gertler's book lists 2.3' (on the gauge on Black River Rd. upstream from Pottersville) as minimum. I've run it at that level and I would list 2.4' (160 cfs - ed.) as minimum, with 2.5-3.0' (200-400) as optimal and over 3' very exciting.
I ran it at 3.3' (800cfs?) and the constricted mini-gorge at the end was "interesting". Scout on the left.
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LAMINGTON (BLACK) RIVER NEAR POTTERSVILLE NJ [ NJ ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NJ | Lamington— Chester to Pottersville | III-IV | 14 cfs | low | 10/12 3:15 | |
| NJ | Lamington— Rt 512 at Pottersville to confluence w/ No. Branch of Raritan | I-II | 14 cfs | low | 10/12 3:15 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 6761 |
| USGS Station: | 01399500 |
| HUC: | |
| Latitude: | |
| Longitude: | |
| Class: |
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 |
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2008-04-29 11:23:57 (166 days ago)
Mark Zak
I scouted Trout Brook and Reinhart Brook during the spring floods. They were both running when the Black was at 1,750 cfs. Trout Brook is basically a death trap at that level, but Reinhart Brook was a sweet class III-IV. Good luck catching these runs though. Black river road was flooded out and impassable to give you an idea of the level.
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2007-04-18 10:23:24 (543 days ago)
Mark Zak
Awesome reach. Thanks to Stephen Strange for posting the details. Nick P. Noah S. and Brian H and I put in at the fishermans access just below the pond. The level was around 260 cfs and we were more than pleased, maybe even a bit lower would have been nicer for our first time on the reach. The small dam outlet to the pond looked sketchy, maybe some debris or metal so we skipped it and went on. Every drop on the Black was run! Unfortunately the pool below six foot falls had two large trees which made for awfully nasty swim when it was run by an unnamed member of our party who had just gotten back from the Big Sandy. Please use extreme caution running six foot falls, the hole will eject you into the trees leading to an underwater body pin forcing the swimmer to climb his way to the surface through underwater branches (super ugly). The Kay falls were runnable center left, nasty rapid was bad ass and finale falls was clean and sweet. Again, awesome reach and as of 4/8/2007 everything was runnable except six foot falls, and of course there were around 10 portages in the boogie water because of strainers.
One of the local landowners strung what appear to be dear attractants across the river downstream of the State Park, I guess to prevent the deer from destroying the spackel buckets its in. I don't know, but either way exercise caution in the boogie water after the park.
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2006-11-28 04:46:18 (684 days ago)
Ken Packie
I ran this with my Brother Thanksgiving morning. We grew up hiking in Hacklebarney so it was great to paddle it. We put in at the fishermens pond and had 6-7 riverwide strainers before we got to the Park. Both big drops at the top are unrunnable....which was disapointing. At least Nasty Rapid was clear (except for wood on river left at the top...easily avoidable). This run needs some TLC. It could be a blast at high water.
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2006-10-19 08:50:41 (724 days ago)
Jake Gaechter
No way i had no idea that this was a runable whitewater creek! i pass it every sunday on my way to my lax games.
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2006-03-13 08:28:39 (944 days ago)
James Dougherty
I scouted this creek yesterday and on the secound half, past Hacklebarney park, along side Black River Road, just a few yards before the gauging station (which is on river right, a few feet from black river road)there is a rope or wire going completly across the river with a NO TRESSPASSING sign on it.Physically, even at high water, Idought it would be a problem but perhaps someone dosn't think you belong there? Also anyone this river for the first time you would want to get out a little after that gauging station once you see house on river right because there is a falls,make sure you scout this. I got heart but I wouldn't do it, not yet that is.I would venture to say you realy need to know what you are doing to make it down safly. I plan on taking out before the falls.
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2006-01-09 23:31:53 (1006 days ago)
Stephen Strange
Unless it has been replaced in the last few months (I'll go check on it soon), the sign above the gauging station is the same one which has been there for years. It's indicated on my guide map, but isn't in-play and can be ducked under unless the water is extremely high. (If it was low enough to decapitate people, it would have disappeared years ago, thanks to my hacksaw) As for the "falls" after the house on river right, unless there's been some major geologic activity that I'm unaware of, this rapid consists of a 2-3'ledge with a small eddy below it on the left, followed by a 4'ledge, immediately followed by a slide to the left which drops about another 3-4', which pools/pillows back to the right (now downstream) and drops another 3-4' feet or so. I refer to this rapid as "Nasty Rapid" on my map because of the upleasant looking rock at the finish in low water. It is best to scout it from river left. I have run every inch of this run a number of times and though I wish there was a 20ft falls, I haven't found it yet.
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| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3 | Prelude |  | |
| 0.3 | 6 foot falls |  | |
| 0.5 | Kay Falls |  | |
| 0.6 | Eddy Hop | | |
| 0.7 | Big Rock | | |
| 0.8 | Bridge | | |
| 0.9 | Suck Hole | |
A 2 foot ledge which drops from river right to river left. It comes up a short distance below a hikers' foot bridge and signals the beginning of the whitewater.
Other than the dam (Kay Falls), this is the highest individual drop on the run. It's a straight forward slide/falls into a pool. The pool below is the beginning of the pond (from the Kay falls dam) and it collects wood at times. Scout.
This is an old stone dam. At the right water level you can run it in the center. Scout on the left.
Just after the ripples below Kay Falls Dam, you get to the top of Eddy Hop. Scouting may be a little easier on the left, but either is possible. Because the pond above catches much of the lumber, this usually isn't as strainer laden, but still, scout.
After a messy little rock pile ledge, the creek goes around a large rock (10' high?). The creek goes left around the rock. The photo shows the smaller ledge which precedes Big Rock in the distance. The big rock is just left of the photo.
There used to be a dam below Big Rock and above the bridge. consequently, the banks are steep dirt (sediment), and there is a rocky rapid/riffle just upstream of the bridge. This is also a location which has picked up wood at times.
Shortly after the bridge, the creek drops over a small (3') ledge into a pool. The ledge is at a constriction of the creek with a boulder on river right and the river bank on river left. The pool is man made ( it was originally for swimming) and has a short (3' ?) dam at the end of it. This is all well and good, except that there is a hole in the bottom of the dam. If it's clear (sometimes it's blocked) and water is draining through it, it's about the right size for the first half of a swimmer to go through and then get stuck. Try not to swim here.
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