Eagle Creek
3. Lower
| Difficulty | III-IV(V) |
| Length | 3.7 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Fish Creek Near Three Lynx, or |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 2, 2024 |
The lower section of Eagle Creek is a favorite with Portland locals for its technical character and fun surfing. The rock is the same volcanic duff seen in the Sandy gorge and along the Bull Run.
Runnable flows usually occur when the Fish Creek gauge is between 300-1,500 cfs, and there has been recent local rain or low-elevation snowmelt. The correlation isn't always perfect, and also factoring personal preferences this gauge could be at 250 and Eagle Creek can still be runnable, or 2,000. Due to the imperfect correlation, there is a painted gauge on the take out bridge under Eagle Creek Rd, visible across the river from upstream of the bridge on river right. Two feet there is a healthy medium flow. Six inches is minimal and only the lower section below Eagle Fern is doable, 1 foot is low but fun, and 3 feet is high but still good, so long as you can avoid the wood.
Access for this run is within the vicinity of Eagle Fern County Park, which is a fee area. There are multiple pullouts where you can access the river both upstream and downstream from the park. The small dam that was formerly located in Eagle Fern park was removed in fall 2021.
On the Lower section the warmup whitewater is class II. There are some nice, easy surf waves adjacent to the park, these are accessible from the road and have been used as a park and play destination.
The Lower Falls with its fish ladder comes up within 10 minutes. Land on river right above the first concrete structure to scout or portage. The falls is more runnable with more water, generally down the right. The left looks frightening at most levels. The portage involves climbing up to an almost level carry or drag through the forest then descending one of several steep trails down to the river. It is recommended to scout your descent before taking your boat--some of them drop off precipitously at the end.
Below the falls the river steepens for ~1 mile, with long comp
...Put in just downstream of the NF Eagle Creek confluence.
Take out at the bridge, there is plenty of parking on the north side of the bridge.
Jan 9, 2022
We've run Lower Eagle from Eagle Fern Park to Eagle Creek Road 3 times in the last 2 weeks--we find it worth the effort. The giant logs which obstructed the Elbow section (steep continuous part after the fish ladder) have both been swept to the sides by high water. Cave rapid is passable on the far left, and no portages for wood have been required. With that said it is NOT a clean section of creek, there is a lot of dangerous wood. Using the painted gauge on the takeout bridge we've run it at 2.25 and rising to 2.5, then 1.75 and steady, and 2.75 and steady. We use the 3 Lynx gauge (Clack) as our main guide to know if this is in. Over 3,000cfs on that gauge means Eagle will be high enough. On the 2.25 and rising day 3 Lynx peaked just shy of 5k. On the 2.75 and steady day 3 Lynx was at 6k dropping to 5k with snowmelt continuing, and no rain for 2 days. All of those levels are in what I would call the medium to high range. First time runs would be most reasonably accomplished below 2 feet. I would not launch on this section without local guidance or lower water or both. It is definitely *not safe*. With that said it is a blast! Really great play if you're comfortable enough to bring a surfy boat. So far I think the surfing is best at 1.5 to 2.5 though there are a few beauties out there when it's higher, they're just getting harder to catch. The Fish Ladder Falls is definitely more runnable at higher flows. Here's video of an R2 running it at 2.75: https://vimeo.com/663831590 and here's video of the same R2 running the entire Elbow section on the same day: https://vimeo.com/663821726.
