Flint Creek
Valley Run
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 6.6 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Boulder Creek at Maxville Mt |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 177 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 2, 2023 |
River Description
A cool trip through a unconfined canyon that opens onto a broad valley with cottonwood galleries bordering the creek. Expect almost continuous class III+ water, but you should be a class IV paddler if you get on this run because of some old mining infrastructure in the river (pipes, cables, etc) and the occassional tree that makes the run a bit more consequential. Go when the water is up. Be ready for flows to double at the Boulder Creek confluence.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportWe attempted to paddle this creek yesterday (6/1/2026) but were unable to find a good access point to enter the river. Public land is few and far between above the confluence, and an angry local did NOT like us parking on the side of the road near his land. I would advise people to look for suitable public access points farther down or to avoid this creek: Big mines, weird parcelling and strange locals don't really tip the risk:reward ratio into the right place to paddle this, I don't think.
I thought Nathan was crazy when he predicted there was whitewater out in the cottonwood groves in the wide-open Flint Creek valley. But, he was right. We found a Class III whitewater run with rolling wave trains and a few moves to make. There was a cable or two and some mining debris but we were heads-up and were able to see it coming and navigate around them. It was a fun run!