Hudson
2. North River to Riparius(Below the Gorge)
| Difficulty | II-III |
| Length | 13 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Hudson River at North Creek Ny |
| Flow Rate as of 53 minutes | 4.81 ftrunnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 14, 2022 |
River Description
The section of the Hudson River running from North River to Riparius is much quieter than the Hudson Gorge run further upstream.
The Put-In is a trail beaten down to the river across the road from Adirondack Outfitters that is a little steep and has a rope with knots to help people up and down. It is just upstream of the mouth of Thirteenth Brook and the parking area and park right there. Immediately after the put-in you'll want to catch the channel on river left to tackle Mouse and Moust Tail Rapids. Apparently at high water levels there is a sneak line that becomes available on river right for the top portion (Mouse). A unique mineral deposit in the rock wall at river left of Mouse Tail may be of interest to the geologically-inclined.
Half a mile downstream is Perry Ehlers Rapids, which is likely the most challenging rapid on this section of the Hudson. Balm of Gilead Brook meets the Hudson just upstream of Perry Ehlers on river right. Those wishing to skip Perry Ehlers can line and boulder hop/wade on river right at low levels or jump onto Rt 28 and cary a tenth of a mile. Be mindful of the fast-moving traffic if carrying.
Below Perry Ehlers there is a mix of flat class I and swifts until one reaches North Creek. This upper section is adjacent the highway and is a commonly used intro to whitewater section.
Passing under the Rt 28N bridge in North Creek, the river turns North and becomes more remote until Riparius. A railroad parallels the river through most of this section on river right, and River Road would be a short bushwack up the right riverbank in most places, but those paddling past North Creek should plan to commit to the entire section to Riparius.
The section of the Hudson from North Creek to Riparius backs off then responds briefly just before arriving in Riparius. It can be challenging identifying an obvious channel through some of the swifts in this portion of the river at low water levels. Boulders will be your main
...River Features
Put-In
Dirt path across from 13th Lake Rd just upstream from Mouse Rapids and the mouth of Thirteenth Brook.
Mouse and Mouse Tail Rapids
Mouse and Mouse Tail Rapids are immediately downstream from the Put-In. At high water levels a sneak route may be available on river right, but the main channel is river left.
Perry Ehlers Rapids
Perry Ehler's Rapids is about .75 miles from the Put-In and .5 miles below Mouse and Mouse Tail Rapids. It is Class III at high water levels and is likely the most challenging feature on this portion of the Hudson. The channel is river left, but those wishing to skip the rapid can line the boat and boulder-hop/wade on river right at lower water levels or carry down Rt 28 a tenth of a mile.
Final Rapids
The final, unnamed rapid before the Take-Out at Riparius Bridge is .5 miles long. The final ledge can be seen from the bridge and at higher water levels can form standing waves and holes.
Take-Out
Take-Out on river right immediately after Riparius Bridge. There will be a sloping grassy hill that leads to a parking lot and picnic area.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportWe completed a 2-man paddle of the Hudson from North River to Riparius bridge in a 16' Mohawk Blazer canoe. No spray deck or float bags, but in hindsight we should definitely have had the latter.
Trip:
Our departure from North River was 10:00am across the road from Adirondack Outfitters. The staff there was very friendly and even let us drop our canoe at their shop and offered a shuttle so we could get our car to the Riparius bridge and have it waiting for us. It's an awesome shop and the staff were super knowledgable. We gave them some cash for their advice and the ride, as well as temporary canoe storage.
The put-in was just upstream from Mouse and Mouse Tail rapids. If you start a trip where we did, expect to dive in head-first. At the levels we ran them at they were probably class II. We managed them fine. River left was the channel to be in.
Perry Ethyls rapid was about a mile further down. I'm not confident enough to speculate what class it was at the levels we were running at, but we both felt it was beyond our skill level and decided to line it from left shore. Adirondack Outfitters advised us that this would be the most challenging rapid on the route. The channel appeared to be all river left, but we didn't attempt it so take that with a grain of salt.
The paddle down to North Creek went off without a hitch with mostly flat water and some occasional swifts that were very manageable after tackling Mouse.
Below North Creek the river bends away from the road and it's sort of a no-turning-back point until you hit Riparius Bridge. We found this out the hard way after going for a swim in a rapid shortly after NC. No injuries or boat damage, and we put back in and continued on.
The river below North Creek had a number of rapids that were strewn with boulders, and I'd be interested to see how those sections characters change at higher water levels. We lined two or three more times due to the sheer number of boulders and the lack of obvious lines in many cases. I'll note that we're both learning in this and that a more experienced paddler could likely have navigated these sections.
The final rapid was a long one that ended just up river from Riparius Bridge. We decided to try and run it and took on some water right at the top- not what we wanted on such a long rapid. There were no obvious opportunities to pull out or eddy to bail the water so we ended up running the whole thing with a sloshing boat. A couple drops in that section were fun, but nerve racking with so much water in the boat. We managed it, though and pulled out at river right immediately after Riparius Bridge at 4:00pm.
We had a lot of fun on this section and I hope to go back and paddle it again... maybe once we've gotten a little more experience under our belts and are confident we can manage the entirety!
Other Notes:
Wildlife. We didn't see much wildlife on the trip, which was a bit surprising. A few hawks were about it. We also noticed some wild strawberries on the river bank while scouting. And spiders- beware patches of ferns if your not a fan of arachnids.
Water Levels. I will add this to the river description because I think it's probably important to most people planning a trip on this section of the Hudson, but a dam release farther upstream reaches North River at about 2:00, raising levels and increasing some of the rapids' ratings. We ran it 'at natural levels' before 'the bubble' hit. The outfitters noted that once you're south of North Creek you're unlikely to even feel/notice the added volume as the river is wider there.
The rapids immediately after North Creek tend to be riffles and can be avoided entirely depending on the line you pick.
When the Riparius bridge is just beginning to come into sight, you will hit the last drop on this stretch of river. Depending on the line you pick (and the water level) you can find some impressive waves and holes here.
The closer you get to Riparius, the bigger the water gets. Still all read-and-run but the waves and holes get more challenging and you can no longer find lines around all the whitewater.