Clear Creek
Clear Creek Springs to Wasioto (1 mile)
| Difficulty | II-IV |
| Length | 2.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 120 fpm |
| Gauge | Cumberland River at Pineville |
| Flow Rate as of 50 minutes | 976.84 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 1, 2024 |
River Description
I left the original entry below unedited to preserve the beta for the section mentioned. In 2024 I scouted this area to look for a decent paddling experience and I believe there is more to this run than just the 1 mile listed starting at the college. Upstream from the college is KY190 with a bridge crossing Clear Creek with a quiet area for parking without encroaching in the college grounds. There is a walking/biking trail all the way to the golf course, which adds about 1.7 miles to the run for a total of 2.8 miles. Some bedrock features and large rocks, although smaller feautures than downstream. Very scenic and easy section! Additionally, there is a completely unmentioned stream Little Clear Creek which creates a confluence with clear creek just before you enter the gorge section. Little Clear has a significant drainage area and many very awesome boulder gardens. The put in for this section is south of the college on Little Clear Creek road at the first bridge on your left as you head into the WMA. Some private property adjacent this creek but still affords beautiful scenery and features. Little clear again adds about 2 miles to the run for 3 miles total. Caution as there is a rather large undercut tree where little clear meets KY190 just before the college.
The run starts on the campus of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College. The put-in is right below a small bridge on Holly Hill Road. The first stretch runs behind a large dorm building, until the Clear Creek confluences with the Little Clear Creek. This is the first rapid on the stretch, Genesis (II). This one is a 100 yard section of small drops and ledges, nothing over 2 or 3 ft. After Genesis the Creek enters the gorge section, and is surrounded by rhododendron and Hemlock trees. The class II boogie continues until about 100 yards after the first rustic bridge.
A horizon line will appear, this is where you would want to get out and scout the rapid and the bridge after the rapid f
...River Features
Genesis
Gilligans Island
After the big pool, a river right break in an old dam with a medium sized rock right in the middle of the chute. There is a possibility for some metal in this one.
Right Hook
Long slide type rapid with a diagonal hole at the bottom. The hole will punch you toward a large boulder on river left, that has potential for a pin and is undercut.
Bogies Boogie
Class II boogie water leading to the take out.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRight Hook after big rain
Gilligans Island after big rain
Chutes and Ledges
Just by way of historical trivia, several of us--Andy Messer, Billy Parrott, Thor Bahrman, Derek Carlton, Tom Burroughs, couple of others whose names I don't remember--ran this on a couple of occasions back around 2001 or so. At that time, the rock dam at Gilligan's Island was intact--It's since been breached, whether by flood or human action I don't know--and was a simple, river-wide sloping drop that could be run most anywhere. Besides placing the 'Island' rock in the middle of the stream, the breach also narrowed the channel a great deal. There are now trees growing along river left on ground that was under water back then. We always considered everything from the dam down to the bottom of Right Hook to be a single long rapid, which we called Tunnel, due to its proximity to the old railroad tunnel on river left. We were later told that the person who did the probable first descent back in the sixties or seventies had named the rapid Wedding Ring, because the big undercut rock at the bottom had supposedly torn the wedding ring off his finger. Incidentally, the whole run is scoutable--with just a bit of bushwhacking here and there--from the rail trail officially known as the Clear Creek Hollow Trail and locally known as the Fat Track.
The gauge listed is for the Cumberland River, and is located downstream from where Clear Creek feeds into the river. There isn't a gauge on Clear Creek.
Had a good run on Clear Creek 12/17/2010. After about 1.3 inches of rainfall the day before. All the rapids were full of water and ready to go. The entrance to Gilligans Island has a torso sized log in it, stay right on the way down. Here are a couple links to some footage from the day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9mxcbNiOVg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Iexzb\_8iw
Put-in