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Falling Water Creek, AR

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Falling Water Falls to Richland Campground

Class II-III+(IV)
7 Miles
Avg Gradient 50 fpm
Max Gradient 60 fpm

Falling Water Falls


Falling Water Falls
Photo of Jessica Robinson by Jesse Scribner taken 7-3-04

Gauge Information

Falling Water Creek
Falling Water Falls to Richland Campground II-III+(IV)
low
1.60
12/2 15:30
[detail]

Min Sug. Level:  3.5 ft Max Sug. Level:  6 ft

River Description

 

 

Falling Water Road is closed by a large landslide and downed timber about 2 miles below the Falling Water Creek Bridge.  Must access the Richland Creek Campground via the north side of the Richland Creek (LONG SHUTTLE).  Lowest access point availble above the landslide is the primitive campground at mile 4.6, 1.6 miles below the bridge.

 

 

 

Note: The combination of Steep banks and lots of dead red oak trees (thanks to the borer beetle infestation) tend to clog the creek with wood from time to time, so keep look out.

 

Put-in: Go East on Hwy 16 from Ben Hur for 1.5 miles and turn onto Pope County Road 68 (NFS 1205) and following to the Falls on the side of the road. There is limited parking along the road and several primitive camping/parking spots upstream a few hundred feet.

Take-out: Continue downstream to the NFS Richland Creek Campground. This road will parallel Falling Water Creek most of the way. Multiple access points are available along the road. This road can also be reached by taking Pope County Road 18 (Falling Water Road)(NFS 1313) farther East off Hwy 16. Or from NFS road 1219 from Hwy 16 near Witts Spring.

 

Falling Water road will cross the creek about halfway between the Falls and the campground. At lower levels, many opt to just run from the bridge down.

The Falls are the highlight (10-12 feet) with the rapid immediately below being the most difficult. It offers an undercut on the right and tight slots for pinning elsewhere. The other significant rapids include the shoals below the bridge, which can develop powerful hydraulics and 'The Grotto' just before reaching the campground.

At medium to high water levels, the shoals (especially below the bridge half-way down) offer some fun play.

 

See action from this creek in


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StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2008-04-02 09:10:20

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Photos/Videos 1- of 2

Falling Water Falls


Falling Water Falls  Falling Water Creek AR
(16.65KB .jpeg)

Falling Water Falls


Falling Water Falls  Falling Water Creek AR
(10.57KB .jpeg)

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Gauge

Gauge Description:

Gauge is at the take-out, Richland Campground, bridge just below the confluence of Falling Water Creek and Richland Creek.

Check out the level predictor chart to help estimate levels up to 2 days later.

 

Richland Cr nr Witts Springs [ AR ]

Current Conditions

Stage Flow Updated
1.6 8.1 12/2 15:30

Station Graphs

Linked Reaches

Search Results

Level Legend: Running Below Minimum Recommended Flow Above Maximum Recommended Flow Unknown
Descriptions of reaches with River Name in bold have been verified by a regional StreamTeam member.

State River Name/Section Class Level Rel. Level Updated
AR Barberry Creek— Headwaters to ELFB III-V 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Bear Creek (Big Piney trib)— Headwaters to Big Piney Creek IV-V(V+) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Big Devil's Fork— Hill Cemetery to Richland Creek III-IV(V) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Bobtail Creek— (hike in) FS 1219A to Richland Creek III-IV+ 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Boss Hollow— Headwaters to Hurricane Creek III-IV+ 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Dry Creek (Richland)— Dickey Junction to Eula IV-V+ 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Falling Water Creek— Falling Water Falls to Richland Campground II-III+(IV) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Falls Branch— Tarlton Flats to NFS Road 1200 near Bass III-V 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Hurricane Creek (Newton & Pope Co.)— Cub Creek to Big Piney II-III+ 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Left Hand Prong— Headwaters to Victor Road II-IV 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Little Buffalo, East Fork— Deer to Murray III-IV(V+) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Long Branch— Hike in from CR 28 near Wayton to Murray III-V 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Long Devil's Fork— Hike in from CR 32 to Richland Creek III-IV(V) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Richland Creek— 1) Moore to Richland Creek Campground III-IV+ 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Richland Creek— 2) Richland Creek Campground to NFR 1201 II-III(IV) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Sandy Springs Hollow— Headwaters to EFLB III-IV+ 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Shop Creek, West Fork— Alum Cove Creek to Parthenon III-IV(V) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Stepp Creek— Gum Branch to ELFB III-IV+ 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30
AR Sulphur Creek— Southern Fork to Richland Creek III-V(V+) 1.60 ft   low 12/2 15:30

Station Description

AW Gauge ID:3161
USGS Station:07055875
HUC:0
Latitude:35.7969
Longitude:-92.9286
Class:-1

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User Comments
2008-05-14 09:16:58 (202 days ago)
Downed timber still blocks road. Edit
2008-04-02 09:11:17 (244 days ago)
Lance JonesDetails
Falling Water Road is closed by a large landslide and downed timber about 2 miles below the Falling Water Creek Bridge. Must access the Richland Creek Campground via the north side of the Richland Creek (LONG SHUTTLE). Lowest access point availble above the landslide is the primitive campground at mile 4.6, 1.6 miles below the bridge.
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Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
0.0Put-inPutin
0.1Falling Water FallsIIIWaterfall
0.1Falls run-outIVHazard
0.2Upper GorgeIII
2.0Bailey Cole ConfluenceAccess
3.0Low-water BridgeAccess
3.1Bedrock GorgeIIIPlayspot
3.8Six Finger FallsIIIWaterfall
4.6Lower CampsiteAccess
4.6Lower GorgeIII
6.2The GrottoIII
6.8Richland Creek CampgroundAccess
7.0Campground BridgeTakeout

Rapid Descriptions

Put-in
Put-in above the falls. Park in the pull-out above the falls or at the primitive campsites above the falls

Falling Water Falls (Class III, Mile 0.1)

Can't miss this roadside drop. Drop is straight forward. Can plug, boof or freewheel. Watch the hydraulic at higher flows. Easy to carry up and run multiple times.



Falls run-out (Class IV, Mile 0.1)

Most difficult and potentially dangerous rapid on the creek. Most portage. Main flow is down the right with an undercut and pin-rocks to deal with.



Upper Gorge (Class III, Mile 0.2)

Below the falls, the creek drops away from the road into a 1 mile long section of fun technical class II-III drops with a remote feel.



Bailey Cole Confluence
Alternate access below the upper gorge is available near the confluence with Bailey Cole Creek via some primative camp sites along the road. Some nice surf spots are located below here.

Low-water Bridge
Alternate access point.

Bedrock Gorge (Class III, Mile 3.1)

Below the low-water bridge, the creek runs through a 0.75 mile long section of bedrock which forms numerous ledges and with lots of surfing spots. Beware of some of the hydraulics at high water levels. The bedrock ends at 6-Finger Falls.



Six Finger Falls (Class III, Mile 3.8)

Six foot tall steep slide/falls with several chutes to chose from. The right side contains a boulder at the bottom to deal with.



Lower Campsite
Alternate access point. Below here the creek drops below and away from the road on its way to Richland Creek.

Lower Gorge (Class III, Mile 4.6)

2-mile section that drops below and away from the road. Similar remote gorge feel as the upper gorge, but rapids aren't as tight. The Grotto awaits near the bottom with a shallow but grabby hydrauic. Watch for wood in the willowy sections.



The Grotto (Class III, Mile 6.2)

Main drop of the lower gorge. A shallow grabby hole awaits at the bottom.



Richland Creek Campground
Confluence with Richland Creek at the campground. Take out here or continue through one more rapid to the campground bridge.


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