West Canada Creek, S. Branch
Fayle Road to Nobleboro
| Difficulty | II-III+ |
| Length | 5.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 36 fpm |
| Gauge | West Canada Creek Near Wilmurt Ny |
| Flow Rate as of 39 minutes | 906 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 14, 2016 |
River Description
The South Branch of The West Canada:
This is an exciting stretch of river. It follows route 8 south from Fayle Road to the Bridge at Nobleboro. The scenic lookout at Nobleboro (Haskell Road) is a great place to meet up with fellow paddlers.
15 - 20 minutes of flatwater paddling warms you up after the put-in. About a mile or more of Class II, a short break and then 2+ miles of II-III. This is a fast run, less than 2 hours to cover over 5 miles of water. It is rocky at low levels and really pushy at higher levels.
For a full day of paddling combine this with West Canada, North Branch: Big Brook to Route 8
Other rivers nearby:
Tug Hill - Old Forge Area Reaches
Beaver (1. Moshier)Beaver (2. Eagle) Beaver (3. Taylorville)
...River Features
Fayle Road Bridge
Fayle Road is about 6 miles north on Route 8 from the bridge at Nobleboro. The Put-In is on flat-water. 15 minutes of paddling to the first rapids.
Part 1
A house appears on river left and a cable is suspended across the river. This marks the beginning of Part 1. 1.5 Miles of II-III water. Bouldery and narrow but lots of fun.
Part 2
A hundred yards of flatwater where the river widens up and has a couple islands and deep spots mark the beginning of Part 2. Part 2 is longer, (2 miles) of consistent class II-III.
Nobleboro Bridge Wave
You can take out right above it on river right at the scenic lookout or take out below it river right near the bridge. This old dam poses no threat and is a decent playspot, but nothing to write home about.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportI have to agree with the above comment, and he may have been a bit easy on his comment. We ran it today at 2000 and i will never consider it at that level again. The second (2 mile long) rapid would be better run on an 4x4 ATV at 1000.
This is at 2,000 cfs, which should be the minimum. The last mile or so before the confluence was extremely boney at this level
At minimum runnable level of 2,000 cfs
After this rapid it got real boney. Wouldn't advise doing this run below 2,000 cfs. It's a blast above 4,000.
At 1000cfs this is a super scratchy run that is only a class II at most. Best leave it alone without more water. (madmike) Update, ran it on Oct. 3 2010 at 2000cfs. Still a class II cruiser and a bottom bruiser. More than 2000 would be desirable.
we found one flat stretch in several miles and decided to do a little kayak sledding with the left over snow. Hans was our probe in his canoe, this is Matt Filippelli in an M3.
this is the take-out for WCC Big Brook to rt8 and the South Branch WCC sections. parking and access are excellent. there's also a level dependent wave above the route 8 bridge which can get 30' wide and a couple feet tall.
this is the put-in for WCC's South Branch. park to the right at the base of the dead-end. posted signs everywhere so don't wander into the woods. road signs were very bullet riddled.
it was Matt or Hans who said some places down south they put a case of beer on the hood of the shuttle car to apease locals. we were fine but kept our action discreet none-the-less.
this was what we were looking for! after a mile plus of flat water the river started into many miles of class II-III. its a bit narrower than the main branch.
gage level is only approximate. its many miles down river and below the merge with the main branch, its still a good reference though.
Hans shoots for a wave under a cable crossing (cables are not too low, but marked with large concrete abutments). after this the river gets fast/narrow and produces some large wave holes.
don't be fooled, the flat lasts for just over a mile, but only delays the gradient. the rest of the run has relentless class II and III rapids.
For the full-sized version of this photo, click here.