Little Miami River, East Fork

On 5-25-26 a group of 8 of us paddled the East Fork. We put in at Waynesville Park (just downstream of the bridge) and took out at the Tunnel Mill Boat Ramp (just upstream of the lake). It was running around 400 cfs throughout our run. The water was moving consistently between little splashy sections – a few spots with some fun waves to go through. Plenty of eddies on either side of the river throughout this section. Also a number of sandy banks available to pull off & take a break if you wanted. A few of the turns had large strainers or tree snags, but these were easily avoided. We were all in recreational kayaks which were well suited for the river at this level. Whitewater kayakers would have been a bit bored – no real wave trains or surf spots. With the consistent current it made for a fun relaxing morning with the water pulling us along while we drifted, chatted & paddled easily. One short section just past ½-way was near a rookery for Great Blue Heron’s & we saw 10 or more. Very pretty run, with no houses, cabins or development. I think we all would run it again at this level in our recreational kayaks – even +/- 100 cfs or so. We had been watching the flow over the weekend as it peaked at about 3,600 cfs two days before & were able jump on before it fully drained. A fun run if you can catch it at a reasonable flow!