Cataract Creek
Gorge(Cataract Creek)
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 16, 2026 |
River Description
Cataract is a classic advanced creek run featuring lots of great class III and IV rapids, a few standout class V falls and rapids, and beautiful scenery. Everything can be easily scouted or portaged.
The season for Cataract is relatively early.
River Features
Put in on 940
Put in at the bridge or the rec area. Good parking.
Titan
Titan is the big vertical drop on Cataract Creek, 25-30 feet of freefall.
Zig Zag
A super fun series of small drops leading to a 10-15 foot tall waterfall.
Leviathan
Leviathan is different from the other rapids on Cataract. Easily scouted and portaged on the right, it is a powerful series of waves and holes compressed in a canyon as the river gushes down a steep rocky slope.
Take Out on the Highwood
Paddle across to your takeout.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportFun early season trip - Kevin Colburn
May 30, 2011
A great early season day on Cataract Creek at a pretty prime level, if perhaps just a bit on the higher side. We paddled Cataract this day as a stopover on our way from MT to AK, and it was well worth the side-trip. Classic.
Prime Flows on the Front - Kevin Colburn
Jun 10, 2001
In June of 2001 we headed up to the rocky mountain front in Alberta and paddled a handful of great runs. Lynx, Cataract, Sheep, and the Highwood, all at good flows. This was my first trip down Cataract and I was blown away by the high quality of the whitewater of all difficulties. I went back years later and ran it at higher water and found some of the in-between stuff less interesting than I did on this descent when the bedrock was more in play. All in all a banner day of Canadian creeking.