St. Regis, Middle Branch
4. Fort Jackson to Buckton
| Difficulty | I-II(III) |
| Length | 5.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | West Branch St. Regis River Near Parishville Ny |
| Flow Rate as of 26 minutes | 155 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 19, 2026 |
River Description
Perfect class I-II beginner river, there is nonstop rapids from put-in to take out, There is a nice day campsite at the put-in if you wish to have a feast before or after the trip. there is an alternate put-in upstream if you want to hit some class 3 aswell. run this river with beginners to learn skills in and around the numerous rocks down the river, at higher flows the first 1000 feet below the campsite might be pretty scary for beginners.
Potsdam - Malone Area Reaches
Chateaugay Deer (Dickinson Center)
Deer (Dickinson Center to Lawrenceville) Grass (1. Lampsons Falls to Downerville)
Raquette Sec. 3) Hannawa FallsRaquette 2) Piercefield to Parmenter Site
Raquette Sec. 4) Stone Valley Salmon
Salmon (Chasm Falls) St. Regis
St. Regis, E. Branch St. Regis, Middle Branch (Sec. 1)
St. Regis, Middle Branch (Sec. 2) St. Regis, Middle Branch (Sec. 3)
St. Regis, Middle Branch (Sec. 4.) St. Regis, W. Branch (Sec. 1)
...River Features
class III put-in
You can put in on the river left side of the bridge in Fort Jackson and hit the class II-III gorge but there is no tresspassing signs on the feild at the put-in due to fisherman ripping up the grass. The guy said to just not park there but you can use the broken stairs just down stream of the bridge. As always respect the land owners.
class II-III gorge
Once on the river below the put-in you can clearly see the river narrow and the banks turn to cliffs. There are 2-4 foot standing waves depending on water level. Then the river takes a right hand turn and there is a pretty nice play spot on the right just before the put in for the class 2. Watch out right in the middle of the river there is a gnarly shark fin rock in the left side of a wave 50 feet below the brook/stream where the class II put in is.
Put In
the put in Is right in the day use area of the Fort Jackson Park the put in is the mouth of big hollow brook where the end of the river creates a nice eddie. if you want there is some fun low volume creeking upstream 300 feet. put in is pretty daunting if its your first time whitewater kayaking but the left side of the river is pretty chill and you can skirt around the waves in the middle.
class II
The river is class II for the first 3000 feet of the river at about 2500 ft after the put in there is a pretty large hole on the right side of the rive, it is amazing to play in at lower flows but at higher flows I would stay on the left side of the river. just below this there is a good edie on the left side of the river marking the beginning of the class I
class I
Just after you see the pourover the the right side of the river, it becomes pretty nice class I with rocks to practice skills on and around for the next mile or 2 before switchig back to class II
class 2
The river brefily switches to class II for about 1000 around one of the bends, it it s fun section but watch out for the rocks barely poking ouf of the water most of them have holes on the other side.
class I
after the breif class Ii it becomes class I waves for the next 3 miles till the end when the river steepens again just before the take out.
Take Out
Take out is just after the bridge, early season this can be inidated with Ice flows. Watch out for barbed wire when nearing the road you can barely see it but it would suck to step on it. ALSO before the bridge is a bull feild so dont wear anything red.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportGroup of 9 made their way down this section of river part of a college whitewater kayaking club. this section is a absloute hoot at 1200 or more cfs. more than one person was a little scared to drop in but once moving everyone had fun. This is one of the best beginner rivers in the area. consistant rapids endless playspots and infinite fun. Sneaky rapids at the put in on Big Hollow Brooks were Fireing.
I took some beginners here and it worked out well. Mostly class II with two class III features near the beginning. The put in is down an embankment by the bridge and there is plenty of parking there. The takeout is also near the bridge. Some of this land is fenced so you should figure out the best place to take out. Probably after the bridge would be better