Griswold to LaonaClass III-IV(V+)
9.2 Miles
Avg Gradient 68 fpm
Max Gradient 96 fpm
Gauge Information
Canadaway Creek
Griswold to Laona III-IV(V+)
River DescriptionThis section of Canadaway has at least 3 waterfalls on it, two of which are Class V's. I got this information from Google Earth and also from www.youtube.com keywords Canadaway and Arkwright Falls. You can see Arkwright and Laona being run. Arkwright is totally nuts in my opinion, but Laona Falls looks like fun. I would portage Arkwright if I were you. The Canoeing Guide to Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia also has information about this reach. The book says you need ropes for the Arkwright Falls portage. I will update this reach once I get to run it by November 2008 when lake effect rain will make it available frequently. This run is at the top of my list for this Fall. It contains some the most intense whitewater in the region (only Little Chautauqua may be tougher.) I speculate that the Catteraugus gauge must need to be 4 ft or higher. You may be able to run it at lower Catt readings if the Catt is very low water before it rains (the Catt takes huge amounts of rain to bring it up where as Canadaway quickly rises and falls in it's narrow gorge.) If anyone has information, pictures, or videos of Canadaway Creek please let me know. Email me at jj14231999@yahoo.com Please put Canadaway Creek in the subject box. It will catch my attention as I tend to get a lot of junk mail.
The put in is probably Bard Road. This seems to be the closest access to the gorge. Take out anywhere on Porter Road after Laona Falls.
NOTE: The area surrounding Arkwright Falls is private property. Please respect the landowners and get their written permission before embarking on this one. Again, Arkwright is very dangerous and a kid almost died there this past spring, breaking his jaw in two places. Use good judgement. StreamTeam Status: unverified
Last Updated: 2008-08-26 08:33:47
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Cattaraugus Creek at Gowanda [ NY ] |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NY | Canadaway Creek— Freedonia to Willow Road | 1.31 ft | 9/8 3:00 | |||
| NY | Canadaway Creek— Griswold to Laona | III-IV(V+) | 1.31 | 9/8 3:00 | ||
| NY | Cattaraugus Creek— Zoar Bridge to Gowanda (Zoar Valley) | II-III | 1.31 feet | low | 9/8 3:00 | |
| NY | Cattaraugus Creek, S. Branch— Otto to Gowanda | II-IV | 1.31 ft | low | 9/8 3:00 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 2006 |
| USGS Station: | 04213500 |
| HUC: | 04120102 |
| Latitude: | 42.4639 |
| Longitude: | -78.9353 |
| 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. No Comments
Add a Comment| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Bard Road |  | |
| 3.4 | Arkwright Falls | 5.1 |   |
| 5.9 | Shumla Falls | IV | |
| 9.1 | Laona Falls | 5.0 | |
| 9.2 | Laona |  |
This is a nasty one! From looking at it on youtube, this eroded out V shaped falls seems to be a Class V+. I think I would portage this one if I were you! The falls appears to be maybe 15 to 20 or so?
I have located Shumla Falls on Google Earth. According to the elevation tools, it appears to be about 9 feet. That's about all I know for sure right now.
This looks to be a Class V based on the youtube video. It looks like a lot of fun. There may be a few drops strarting at the bridge based on Google Earth.
There should be a place to take out just below the falls. Route 60 parallels this part of the creek. Look for pull offs just below the falls. The creek seems to flatten out at this point, but there seems to be some nice ledges down in Freedonia just above I-90. I will likely add a milder surf section reach at a later time as I get more information.
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