For a helmet-cam video of some of the drops including the last slide, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeczvJ6dLSo
George Mower, CCA Cruiser; Ed Gertler.
Takeout is the bridge just above the Lower Yough, at Entrance Rapid. Those who wish, can continue on a high-water run of the Lower Yough and take out at the Loop or Bruner Run.
Putin: there are putins downstream of Rte. 381, which eliminate some distance of flatwaterish stuff.
This is a narrow, tight stream. There are pinning rocks all over the place. One of the most characteristic rapids is the Cacades, which is a boney slide culminating in a 6-foot ledge. After the Cascades, there's a lot of boulder-bumping. Another good drop is Seven Foot Falls (shown below), which requires a committed boof. The last major rapid is the Slide (photo above). This narrow, shallow monster is a portage for many who value their skin and their teeth. Scout this puppy before running the stream! You don't want to miss the last-chance eddy and blunder into it. A small red flag on a river-left tree currently marks the last-chance eddy.
Other related or nearby streams:Middle Yough (Class II)Casselman (Class I-III)Lower Yough (Class III)Ohiopyle Falls (Class IV, almost always illegal)Upper Yough (Class IV-V)Top Yough (Class IV-V)
Responding to the picture about going under the seven foot falls rock. I did do that once at a medium-low flow actually. The catch is I was being stupid and cavalier and found myself to far right and hit the right rock with my bow, went cartwheeling backwards into the hole off the rock and surfed it upside down until I caught some deep greenwater off the fall and it pushed my low volume C-1 XXX right all the way under the rock. The bouency of my boat popped me out the other side in the eddy after rubbing up under the ceiling of the undercut. My friend sat there and watched it and said it was a pretty wild little trashing; it felt weird upside down too.
Cascades is quite impressive looking (more-so than the photos suggest) but not at all difficult, high flows want to slam you into R-wall and pins are possible at all flows at base of 6
Put-in Best put-in is right at the commercial rafting outfitters off Rt 381 about a mile up the hill from the slides. In reality, you can walk the shuttle along the road, it takes about 15 minutes at most. There is a trail alongside the river, but its hilly and winds around a little, the road is more direct. Also, for the cascades. Our consensus was to start right of center, through the notch, and stay there until the end. Pretty simple slide. To avoid pitoning at the base, carry speed and go off with a side angle to the right, maybe 30 degrees. This keeps your bow from smacking down on the rocks, boofing is pretty hard when there is only an inch of water to use. To gauge the river, its in the same drainage as the Big Sandy, the water falls from the same place, so most likely if the Sandy is rising towards 6.5 or more it is runnable.
As of yesterday, 3/10/2010, there was a tree laying across the upper sections of the slides. About 6 inch thick and until moved they are not runnable. Hopefully state park or locals will move it out.
I ran the slide on a low water day, the meadow was far from running. The lower was at 3.0 and falling. The water line was not nearly above the edges of the little box the water flows through. It was straight forward, tough current in the notch of course, but the run was clean. Momentum coming down from the upper slide into the notch drove me right through and kept me off the walls. It can go at low water if you're bored and looking for some action.
6 years ago
by n/a
Runnable when the Lower Yough's cranking, especially when it's on the rise.
Permits are not required for this reach.
39.8633003234863,-79.4957962036133
39.8171997070312,-79.4957962036133
NA
We have no additional detail on this route. Use the map below to calculate how to arrive to the main town from your zipcode.
7 Foot Falls
Undercut Rapid
Meadow Run hazard below slide
Joe attaining the slide!
Sam's 11th slide run of the day.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PADDLE.........? OH, there it is 15 feet behind me. oops
Pinning rock/slot in last slide before 7ft falls
Undercut @ 7ft
Dry 7ft Falls
Another look at the pinning rock below 7ft
Dry water look at the Pin Rock in the rapid below 7ft
Cascades,,, Yipppiiiii
7 ft. Falls @ higher water
Cascades Last Drop
Middle of Cascades
Top of Cascades
Ohiopile Slide- the Notch
Ohiopyle Slide- at the last ledge
Middle of Ohiopyle Slide
Bottom of Ohiopyle Slide
Cascade!
Seven-foot Falls, Meadow Run
The Cascades, Meadow Run
The Slide, Meadow Run
If someone gets hurt on a river, or you read about a whitewater-related injury, please report it to American Whitewater. Don't worry about multiple submissions from other witnesses, as our safety editors will turn multiple witness reports into a single unified accident report.
This past fall American Whitewater met with Ohiopyle State Park managers to discuss possible updates to their whitewater paddling regulations. The first topic was to change the rules governing raft sizes at different water levels to recognize the capabilities of self-bailing rafts. Shorter self-bailing boats will now be allowed to run the river at high water. Some small changes to the regulations will make Ohiopyle Falls more accessible to paddlers. A change in the way the gauge is interpreted should make the falls "legal" on more days. Although whitewater paddlers are only one part of the vast public that visits the park, every effort was made to accommodate them while avoiding user conflicts and safety hazards. Special thanks goes to Ken Bisbee, Ohiopyle State Park Operations Manager and John Hallas, a former Ohiopyle State Park Operations Manager who is now Director of State Parks. Click here to read the updated Ohiopyle River Regulations:
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