Lusk Creek Canyon (4.5 miles)Class I-III
4.5 Miles
Avg Gradient 22 fpm
Canyon Overlook
Canyon Overlook Photo of Overlooking Mellow Section of Lusk Creek by Photo Courtesy of Gib Egge - College of DuPage - Field and Experiential Learning taken May 17, 2003 @ 235 cfs/Not Running Gauge Information
Lusk Creek
River DescriptionLusk Creek is the most well-known whitewater run in Southern Illinois. It is one of the most pristine waterways in the state and is up for consideration as a National Wild & Scenic River. It is currently protected as a National Forest Wilderness area and sections as an Ecological Area.The creek starts out in woodland bottoms with relatively minor gradient but soon is surrounded by rocky hillsides and cliffs. The culmination of these cliffs come in Lusk Creek Canyon where the cliffs rise directly out of the water to heights over one-hundred feet. After the canyon section, the cliffs recede and the creek is surrounded by forest for the final mile. Rapids on this creek at low to moderate levels are Class II in nature. However, this is not a good beginner run. This creek flows through forests before entering the canyon. Due to regular flash floods, this run is strewn with wood. Much of this run is boat scoutable but quick eddy turns or ferries may be necessary to avoid strainers. Generally, routes around these strainers can be found, but be alert. There is one mandatory portage on Lusk Creek at the end of the canyon where two large boulders have seemed to catch every log that has ever floated into them. The safest portage is through a small boulder garden on river right. StreamTeam Status: unverified
Last Updated: 2005-10-11 12:01:44
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LUSK CREEK NEAR EDDYVILLE, IL [ IL ] |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IL | Bear Branch— Bridge to Lusk Creek (4 miles) | III | 0 cfs | low | 10/11 7:30 | |
| IL | Lusk Creek— Lusk Creek Canyon (4.5 miles) | I-III | 0 cfs | low | 10/11 7:30 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 1690 |
| USGS Station: | 03384450 |
| HUC: | 05140203 |
| Latitude: | 37.4722 |
| Longitude: | -88.5472 |
| Class: | 5 |
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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2008-05-02 03:30:52 (162 days ago)
Does anyone here have any more information they might be able to post about Lusk Creek or Bear Branch of Lusk Creek? If anyone has ever ran the canyon either could you maybe give a description of it? Edit
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2008-01-08 11:09:33 (277 days ago)
On Lusk Creek, the canyon itself has no rapids, but it is a very impressive site with the vertical walls and small, tall waterfalls. However, there are several class II to class III rapids leading up to the canyon if the flow is above 400 CFS. There is also a large standing wave immediately downstream from the mandatory portage at the bottom of the canyon. At flows above 1000-1500 CFS, Lusk becomes more difficult and it is not recommended.
Bear Branch is much steeper and more difficult than Lusk Creek. It has a much smaller drainage area and, therefor, lower flows than Lusk, which can be nice. However, if you follow Bear Branch (at a decent flow) all the way to Lusk, Lusk may be over 1000 CFS.
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No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
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