Put In: At the junction of Highway 26, Woolen Mills road and a smaller road, There is a large open area between Woolen Mills road and Muddy Creek. Paddlers tend to park here or further north along Woolen Mills Road.
Take Out: The Cheat Festival site is on creek left at the confluence of Muddy Creek and the Cheat River. There are parking areas, informational kiosks and changing rooms. From Interstate 68, head South on Route 26. After about ten miles, take a sharp right into Teter's Campground. Drive through Teter's campground to land owned by Friends of the Cheat. This is an AW paddlers' easement.
Kevin Williams relates: Fun run with 2 slides- one narrow and reminiscent of the last slide on Meadow Run (but not as steep). Watch out for the undercut ledge along the left side and a piton rock near the bottom. The other slide (right at the old furnace) is 25 meters long with a ledge on the left side, a consistent slide on the right and what looks to be a really nasty pinning rock jumble right in the middle. Portage on the right. . The run was pretty low for us. Take a look at the 2nd slide at the furnace; if there is enough water to run the right side, it will probably be a nice level. Take out at the Cheat putin.
For years, heinous water quality deterred paddlers form running the lower section of Muddy Creek. This Creek had been severely impacted by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) from abandoned coal mines for decades. The volume of AMD, commonly known as “yellowboy” was overwhelming after the 1994 blowout at the T&T Mine. However, this stretch of whitewater is now runnable again with excellent water quality.
In 2018 the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) in cooperation with Friends of the Cheat (FOC) implemented a watershed scale restoration project on Lower Muddy Creek. This includes an AMD Treatment plant at the old T&T mine, as well as In-stream lime dosing systems throughout the watershed. The water quality on lower Muddy Creek has improved dramatically over the last year.
Friends of the Cheat (FOC) has installed an OTT RLS Stream Gauge near the mouth of Muddy Creek, close to the Cheat Fest Site. The stream gauge is similar to ones used by the USGS throughout the state, however it is maintained and managed by FOC. It measures stream stage (water level), as well as the following water quality parameters; pH, conductivity, DO and temperature. Eventually, the stream stage will be embedded in this page in place of the Big Sandy correlation that is currently used. For now, in order to view this gauge, follow this link: *https://www.cheat.org/our-work/mapping-monitoring-program/muddy-creek-gauge-live-data-stream/* and click “Muddy Creek” on the left side of the page, and then click “RLS Level (ft)” in the resulting drop down menu. This link will also provide the opportunity to download an app. If you have any trouble accessing this gauge via mobile phone, some users may find it helpful to first access the link via wifi and download the app.
Flow data will be useful for folks paddling Muddy Creek and other nearby steep creeks (Daugherty, Roaring, and Elsey) that don't have gauge stations, but often run when Muddy Creek runs high. Other recreationalists will find the information useful as well. If you’d like to contribute to the development of runnability correlations, please e-mail your observations of runnable flows in Muddy Creek or other nearby creeks to owen@cheat.org, and/or leave this feedback as a comment here. Please be sure to include date and time, as well as your interpretation of the flow, being as objective as possible.
Launch near near the junction of Woolen Mill Road and Highway 26p . There is a bit of parking on the north east corner of the intersection. Woolen Mill Road follows Muddy Creek upstream.
The remains of the old furnace appear to be on river left towards the end of the slide.
The take out is a public access point located on the Friends of the Cheat property. The takeout includes a moderately sized parking area with information Kiosks, bathrooms, and changing rooms. This is also considered one of the Cheat Canyon put-ins as well.
From Interstate 68 at Bruceton Mills, head south on Route 26. After about ten miles, take a sharp right into Teter's Campground. Drive through Teter's campground to land owned by Friends of the Cheat. This is an AW paddlers' easement.
Funs run with 2 slides- one narrow and reminiscent of the last slide on Meadow Run (but not as steep). Watch out for the undercut ledge along the left side and a piton rock near the bottom. The other slide (right at the old furnace) is 25 meters long with a 5
6 years ago
by Michael Gallimore
Based on a recommendation by Steve Ettinger. Note that this is an "indicator gage," from a nearby stream in the same watershed. These indicator gages are best used as a guide--a way to figure out whether it's even worth looking at the stream or not.
Permits are not required for this reach.
39.549589 ,-79.633369
39.514768 ,-79.644592
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.
Muddy Creek
Muddy Creek 2
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.
Log into the American Whitewater website and you can contribute to river descriptions, flow and access tips, and maps associated with runs you've done. You can even add new runs to the inventory!
