Paint Creek

My family and I used two inflatable kayaks (Sea Eagle 330 and 370) to go from just below Barrett Mill dam on Rocky Fork to SR 41 on Paint Creek in Bainbridge. The flow on Rocky Fork was at 150 CFS during our entire run. At that flow I got stuck once in a 3-4 foot section and felt myself scrape over a rock about 5 other times. Paint Creek was at 390 CFS. Same as Rocky Fork, we got stuck a couple of times and hit a few rocks. I am sure my inflatable kayak and my 210 lbs has a deeper draft than most other kayaks. My wife’s boat rarely had any trouble. She and my youngest son did get stuck at the section labeled above as “Chutes (Class III, Mile 2.5)”. The flow on the left was fun with plenty of water but not enough water was flowing over the ledge and they missed the left. Luckily, they managed to wiggle over the ledge without getting dumped sideways. The ledge listed above as “Falls (Class III+, Mile 6.0)” was the most fun of the day and worth all the paddling in the couple of flat miles leading up to it. We used what was referred to as the “sneak line” on the right and it was clearly the biggest rapid of the day. We intended to use the Church parking as our take out location but they now have it gated. We instead took out on the South side and parked along the access road but very near SR 41 since there are a couple of houses at the end of the road. Once you approach the area one will notice a couple of spots along this section where fishermen have created trails down to the river. Taking out there would be a bit more trouble at higher water levels since the water is flowing fairly fast at the SR 41 bridge. Other than the fast flow near SR 41 the river only offers paddling after the 6 mile ledge for the next 1.5 miles.

The rapid below the Chutes is definitely not class 4. It is an easy 3 or hard 2.

There are two small ledge-riffles at the put in for Paint creek that some people like to practice on.

Here's and update from the Cincypaddler Board regarding the takeout:

Ever since the announcement of the rest stop closure was announced, with the
ensuing concerns about access, Mike Rzesutock and I have been talking about what
actions to take to get a handle on the situation and take any necessary action
to ensure the site remains easily usable. In practice, I did 99% of the talking
and Mike handled 99% of the action.

The rest stop property is owned by an attorney, who Mike just spoke to:

He gave us permission to park at the old rest area. He does not own any land
inside the loop; he sold his half several weeks ago.He said as long as we park
on the creek (north) side of the loop we are good. The Ross Cty engineer said
that that is a public road so there's no problem there. However, they are
talking about closing the west end of the loop.

We owe Mike a big thanks for his etraordinary effort (and maybe a nice carbon
paddle). You can accomplish that by spreading the word about the situation.

5/1/2011 Had a lazy run down rocky fork as preparation for a solo trip down the chutes today and I got to second the prior post, definitely the biggest water I have ever seen in Ohio. It was running at 8.5’ huge standing / crashing waves, and quite pushy but big fun, definitely not for the novices. Turtle rock was 3 big waves (8’ to 10’) and Third drop looked like it had several options depending on how brave you are, but I ran the traditional line to the to the left to be safe because I didn’t have support.

play wave in chutes - fall release

Went down the chutes yesterday at 7.68ft. on the gauge. Was the most incredible whitewater I've seen in Ohio.A 4 to 6ft. surfable wave hole forms from the shoreline to Turtle Rock. About three forths of the river wide. The normal nasty pour over became a 7ft standing wave. Absolutly Awesome Park and play. I think it was really safer than normal, no exposed rock and deep water to flush through.

These guys looked great. That is, until they turned into a submarine about ten seconds later.

One of many groups out on Rocky Fork and the Paint Creek Chutes on a fine April afternoon.

James works a canoe better than most people work a kayak. Fun to watch. This move is a back surf after back ferrying out from the eddy behind Turtle Rock.

About 3 miles (approx) downstream of the chutes is a more significant rapid (class 3/4). Unfortunately both shorelines are private property and rumor has it that neither landowner is very paddler friendly so its a run as you see it or road scout the run. Sneak line is on the far right with a ledge drop on the left and a broken ledges pretty much all the way across the river.

Maybe 50 cfs contributed from Paint, the rest of the water coming out of Rocky Fork. Shoals between confluence and Chutes super scrapy at this level.
Not much more than a wave train at this level.

Oh my god! The Scream dude surfs!
The Scream Dude flushes off the wave.
The Scream Dude takes a break and chills out.

Photo of the Outdoor Adventure Clubs intro to Whitewater