Moodna Creek

Slip in at the put in for a slow class 2+ start. Best parking on east side of Pleasant Hill Road about 100' south of bridge. Fisherman access  with nice bench.  Note there is nothing but completely flat water upriver from here.

Easily run but a total boat abuser...has a gravelly textured surface and in all but the highest conditions you just sandpaper your way down. Get close to the edge, take a good look and either pick the deepest spot or decide you like your boat and portage right.

Lots of sharp rocks in the run out so not a place to get flipped but if you're in danger of getting flipped here this is good place to call it a day. Note that in the distant past like the early 2000's the rocks were blown out and there were nasty holes at the bottom...and we're probably 1 big storm from this happening again, so like any dam, use your discretion.

Since the dam is hell on boats if you're just running the gorge, parking on the southeast side of the bridge and access either right by the bridge on the west (dam) side or thru woods on east side.

As you come up to Hell's Teeth (aka the Pillars) you will see these 10-15 foot tall piers on River Left. Scout on either side though i prefer right.

Main line is river right moving hard left to drop to the left of the 'tooth' in the center of the flow. Large eddy on far right just above uppermost right pillar easy to hit at lower levels. Recently (summer 2019) something moved offering a tongue in at least low to medium flows as opposed to the previous drop into a diagonal wave coming off the tooth.  Sneak route to left of right pillar runnable at all but low levels. From above this sneak  looks like a 4' drop into a bad hole, but it's really a sloping drop into a small hole. Head straight over the furthest spot. There's also slightly straighter lines left but they've held wood in recent years. Portage on right.

Obviously any of these pillars could and have caught wood which can be below waterline. Without wood this is a pretty low consequence hard class 3 at lower levels to class 4 at higher levels with a nice pool below.

Left of the island is the prefered route as it has more water. When the ledge in the center tooth is getting hit but not covered with water there's a attainment service to a fun surfing hole/wave just above the huge rock on river left at the bottom.

Right of the island is undercutting and often has awkward wood.

This distinct horizon line is easy to see. Portage on river left which requires a seal launch into a swirl that occasionally catches wood.  Take care.

The character of this  dam is strange. This dam has a downstream sliding board with a kick up lip at the very bottom. Kick up is less pronounced near center.

It has been run at most flows.  At all but the highest flow there's a pool below but at high flows you can't stay in the pool and you drop right into Irene/ factory rapid...so at high levels drop over the dam pretty close together (or portage) so you're able to help each other if help is needed below.

At high flows wood in left putin can make the seal launch a really bad idea. You can also portage  right, up a steep slope, thru an old factory floor and put in near the bottom of Irene.

Starting immediately below the 2nd dam. At low to medium levels there's a nice pool below the dam. At high levels get ready as  water can flow too fast to stay below the dam.

Generally run to the right of the island down the main shoot with some significant holes. You can see the whole of this rapid from the top of the dam.

Formed by Hurricane Irene in 2011,

Warning...there's been 2 concussions - none severe -  where folks flipped higher up and were rolling up in the meat of the drop.  Good place to pull or stay tucked, though rocks moved in 2022 making this a bit less dangerous.

Photo is of boof rock that moved in 2022.

After Irene there's another short rapid and then a  3rd drop. The retaining wall is getting undercut below the factory  on river right. At higher levels if you go with the flow you get pushed against some abrasive concrete (not great) but at lower levels a low boat could slide under the edge  and mess up your side if not an outright pinning hazard...It's sort of a sloping concrete wall. 2021 update - it's shifted further so still undercut but below waterline at all levels.

This is  the 3rd distinct short rapid after the dam and starts after a huge rock on left forms a huge eddy. Staying left away from the wall isn't hard.

At higher waters nice surfing with eddy service at the bottom of the first 2 drops.

Named for a hemlock grove that used to be on the right side of the island. Now it's mostly run river left. Large rock on left has narrow passage that can get a little choked with wood.  After that a wave train followed by a nice reactionary type hole where the right side river joins back with the left.

Wide shot under the old forge bridge clearly showing the placement of the I-beams. Hurricane Irene moved the river a hundred feet or so to the right, destroying the bridge and burying this former hazard.

Nice squirt line on river left.

This is the end of the class 3 section.

Pull out on river right just below the bridge or go down to 9w or the Hudson.

Ida undercut the small dam on river right below the rapid below forge hill road. After passing Forge Hill road, the river turns right down the bumpy packman rapid (more water right) and then left around a building. For those who run the river, this has been an inconsequential drop of about a foot. Ida probably undermined the dam - or the factory undermined it to shore up the wall afterwards. At higher levels this is a significant recirc...sneak as far left as you can get away with, but no further as speed is the key and there's fu rocks. Winter 2023 someone got caught in a high run (barely touching the rt. 32 dam) and it was waist deep.

At higher water a sneak route has opened up at left.

Alternate pull out at 9w that gives you a pretty stretch of easier river. Gravel drive just after crossing river (northbound) and below/south of Storm King Marine. Adds a mile + with several nice class 2 rapids including one that has a lot of jagged rocks and no clean line - but with the full upper section makes the whole run decently long and paddlers challenged by the gorge won't be bored by this section. This section caught a massive amount of wood after Irene and had a few perilous routes thru the strainers for awhile.  Until 2019 had a porta potty at the pullout but now there's not much privacy to relieve yourself. Building has an overhang that gives you a dry place to change in the rain.

Pullout is an boat launch ramp that ends at normal water level. Usually somewhat awkward for the first person out but if they are nice they can pull the rest onto the ramp.

This was an official kayak launch but it's just above tidewater so in most conditions you can't paddle back up from the Hudson to here. Plum Point Park has much better launch for rec paddlers.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/New+Windsor+Kayak+Launch/@41.4593953,-74.0237283,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x4a101fce3fb3965a!8m2!3d41.4593953!4d-74.0237283

Flatwater marsh leads to the Hudson. Pretty but pretty boring in a whitewater boat.