Raquette River
Helenbrooks Hole
| Difficulty | II |
| Length | 0.29 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Raquette River at South Colton Ny |
| Flow Rate as of 41 minutes | 3610 cfshigh runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 3, 2026 |
This wide, forgiving Class II wave train offers a relaxed introduction to moving water and is well suited for beginners. The rapid consists of a long, gentle wave train with no significant holes or hazards. The river’s width and straightforward read-and-run character make it a comfortable place to build confidence. At the bottom of the rapid, paddlers can lap roughly the final 200 feet of waves by using the eddies on both river left and river right.
This short segment of the Raquette River, less than half a mile in length, begins immediately downstream of the South Colton Powerhouse, part of the Upper Raquette River Hydropower Project (FERC P-2084). It flows into the Higley Flow, a reservoir formed by Higley Dam, which is part of the Middle Raquette River Hydropower Project (FERC P-2320).
The put-in is a parking lot on Stowe Lane, located on river left on the upstream side of the Highway 56 bridge.
The take-out is located in the back of the bay immediately on river left after the rapid, on the downstream side of the Highway 56 bridge. Access is from Cold Brook Drive.
Apr 3, 2026
flow was at 5050cfs, really good 2 foot waves at the top, and just at the entrance of the lake there were solid 3 foot standing waves. the last waterfall of the three falls had about a foot pouring over the top of it, there was also a waterfall to river right that had tons of water going over it, seeing it in the summer i never wouldve thought there was any chance og water going through there. the one difference between 2500cfs and 5000cfs is the length that the waves go into the lake.
Sep 23, 2025
This section of river has a dam release of 2500cfs every week day from 4-8pm. I have gone 4 times at various levels, at 500cfs it's quite low and not really fun, at 1500 cfs there is a nice wave train on the left side of the river there is a really nice wave that forms in the last 200 feet of the rapid depending on the level of the higley flow reservoir there are some shallow rocks below the wave, At 2500cfs (which is the level 90% of the time) there is good 3 foot wave trains on the left and right side. And the wave in the final 200 feet of the rapid is still there but not as prominent.
the put in has parking for about 8 cars, Make sure not to park in front of the house. If you put in next to the parking lot there is a deck that looks out over the small lake above the rapid. There is also an actual put in about 300 feet down the road which has signage saying class 2 rapid. All of the rapid can be viewed from the bridge. The take out which is a quarter mile away has no parking at all, I recommend walking back or leaving a bike. As always respect the home owners.
Bonus rapid, if you paddle upstream there is a waterfall (not sure if it's runnable, and a small class 2 section below that is about 75 feet long. This does not get the same water as Helenbrook's hole because of the hydro electric station but I ran it during a drought and it was pretty fun.
