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Lochsa, ID

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3 - Wilderness Gateway bridge to Split Creek Pack Bridge (Fish Creek to Split Creek)

Class III-IV
9 Miles

Backsurfing Pipeline


Backsurfing Pipeline
Photo by Kevin Pickens @ 7,500 cfs USGS Gauge

Gauge Information


Min Sug. Level:  1500 cfs

River Description

The Lochsa is truly an Idaho Classic, offering paddlers miles and miles of big beautiful whitewater. The most commonly run section is from Fish Creek to Split Creek, and features over a dozen big named rapids and some great playboating.

At low water the Lochsa is an enjoyable paddling trip with some technical moves, some nice small play features, and pools between each of the rapids. At medium water the rapids link up with swift water and become big fun rollercoasters with few technical moves. The play waves grow in size, with Pipeline as the centerpiece. Most rapids are run right of center as a general rule of thumb and can be scouted from highwater 12 (beware, though, of the Idaho Sandbag: many Idaho rivers look easy from the road and are actually confusing and stompy on the water). At high water the Lochsa is a wild ride of towering waves and thundering holes that is ridicuously fun (if you stay in your boat).

The camping and hiking around the Lochsa are great. Superb water quality and scenery, along with booming and relatively straightforward whitewater, make the Lochsa a true Idaho treasure.

For a Great Map of Rapids: www.pinecrick.net/Lochsa_Float_Guide.doc (2.5 MB)

Note that the rapid descriptions below are in reverse order, and the mileage corresponds to the Mile Markers along Hwy 12.

Idaho Whitewater by Greg Moore and Don McClaran (Class VI; 1989); Idaho: The Whitewater State by Grant Amaral (Watershed Books, 1990).
StreamTeam Status: unverified
Last Updated: 2008-04-30 19:09:48

Search Results

Photos/Videos 1- of 26

IK'ing Grim Reaper


IK'ing Grim Reaper  Lochsa ID
(386.04KB .wmf)

Surf wave at Pipeline


Surf wave at Pipeline  Lochsa ID
(62.63KB .jpeg)

Lochsa Falls


Lochsa Falls  Lochsa ID
(7.76KB .jpeg)

Lochsa Falls


Lochsa Falls  Lochsa ID
(532.52KB .jpeg)

Open boat air at Lochsa Falls


Open boat air at Lochsa Falls  Lochsa ID
(20.26KB .jpeg)

Lochsa Falls


Lochsa Falls  Lochsa ID
(111.76KB .jpeg)

don't get terminated...


don't get terminated...  Lochsa ID
(535.29KB .jpeg)

Backsurfing Pipeline


Backsurfing Pipeline  Lochsa ID
(55.77KB .jpeg)

lochsa falls


lochsa falls  Lochsa ID
(90.17KB .jpeg)

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Gauge

Gauge Description:

There are two gauges for the Lochsa. The more commonly refered to gauge is the boaters gauge on the bridge near Lowell. If you hear some one give a Lochsa reading in feet, this is the gauge they are refering to. Online readings for the bridge gauge are not available. However, there is an online USGS gauge for the Lochsa that reports both flow in CFS and stage in feet. Do not confuse the readings from the bridge gauge with the stage readings from the online gauge. This link provides a correlation of the bridge gauge in feet to flow in CFS from the USGS gauge. Predictive flows are available from the Northwest Rivers Forecast Center using data taken from the USGS gauge.

WXPort

News




Guidebooks



Idaho the Whitewater State
$19.95

User Comments

2007-09-07 02:04:05 (402 days ago)
new online whitewater guide for idaho and montana area paddling - check it out! www.montanaeddyhop.blogspot.com Edit
2007-04-29 02:36:20 (533 days ago)
Robin CarletonDetails
More photos of Lochsa river at www.infinitymountain.com Have Fun! Robin
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Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
111.0Surprize Rapid
111.5Split Creek TakeoutTakeout
111.7Split Creek Rapid
112.8Termination Rapid
113.3Old Man Rapid
113.6Pipeline Rapid
114.2Lochsa Falls
114.4Prelude Rapid
114.6Horsetail Rapid
115.1Jones's Wave Rapid
115.3Shoestring Falls Rapid
115.6Cliffside Rapid
116.0Grim Reaper Rapid
116.6Bloody Mary Rapid
117.0House Wave Rapid
117.7Morning Glory Rapid
118.1Otter Slide Rapid
119.1Killer Fang Rapid
119.8Sandy Beach Rapid
120.1Fish Creek Rapid
120.3Fish Creek Put InPutin

Rapid Descriptions

Fish Creek Put In
Nice USFS Put In


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StreamTeam

Kevin ColburnDetails
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Disclaimer Data Sources

EPA Surf This Watershed

USGS Page for This Station

NPS ID Rivers Inventory


Journal Archive Articles



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