Eagle Creek

Eagle Creek Road / Black River Road to Gila River

DifficultyIV
Length11 mi
Avg Gradient45 fpm
GaugeEagle Creek Above Pumping Plant, Near Morenci, Az.
Flow Rate as of 34 minutes
30 cfsbelow recommended
Reach Info Last UpdatedFebruary 16, 2025

River Description

We thank contributor Tina Swan for the following report (slightly edited for readability):

'I ran this in early March of 2010. We used the Paddling Arizona guide from Tyler Williams. We launched from the flooded Black River Road, with the gauge holding steady about 300cfs.

The whitewater was easy class III with wood manuevering... not very exciting. The side hikes, wildlife, and camping options were great. We explored a few side streams, two that ended in dead-end slot canyons. We checked out an old homestead, and spotted Big Horns, Blue Herons, Ring Tail Cats, and what I think was a Coati.

The best parts of the run were in the first half. The wood dodging and channel finding through the vegetation became more complex towards the confluence with the AZ Gila Box.

If this creek is running, the Gila Box probably has a healthy flow (it was 950 cfs on our way out).

Harris Outfitters provided a shuttle service. You will likely want to make this an overnight trip since this is a long run when combined with the Gila Box, and the side hikes are the real appeal of the run.'


River Features

Put in: Eagle Creek Road / Black River Road

Distance: 0 mi
Other

This road will be flooded over when creek is runnable.

Confluence with Gila River

Distance: 11.25 mi
Other

Eagle Creek flows into the Gila River midway through the Box section. (https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/117/)

Anyone doing Eagle Creek is likely to continue down the bottom half of that section (obvious at high flows, when Eagle Creek is runnable).

(For some reason, the software will not map the Eagle Creek all the way to the Gila River.)


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