Mill Creek
2. Hwy 22 to Hwy 18
| Difficulty | II |
| Length | 6.4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | South Yamhill River Near Willamina |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 104 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 17, 2026 |
River Description
This is a friendly class II run with an easy shuttle that has a spattering of friendly surf waves, and a couple nice wave trains at medium flows. The creek flows through agricultural land, but is incised enough that it is not typically visible. The run can be extended by putting in a few miles upstream (44.994338009959556, -123.42063733950958) at a roadside pull out out, or by continuing downstream on the South Fork Yamhill into Sheridan. Do not put in at Mill Creek Park unless you are interested in the class V rapid just downstream. There is often wood present on the run, but don't be surprised if no portages are needed.
There is a painted gauge at the Hwy 22 bridge, 3.5 is a medium flow. Below 2 the run will probably feel low. There is no upper limit, but at 7 feet the eddies are small and the wood is a concern. It's probably too stressfull at 7 for paddlers who would normally enjoy this run. 2,000-4,000 cfs in the South Yamhill @ Willamina is probably a good medium range to shoot for if you don't already know the run (but that's not a hard-set rule).
The following video at about 3.5 covers most of the run just below the class V rapid mentioned above to just below the confluence with a swollen South Yamhill:
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportTwo groups paddled lower Mill Creek on March 14, 2026 with the SF Yamhill gauge dropping a peak around 5,500 in the morning, dropping to about 3,200 later in the day. The gauge on Highway 22 was reading 3.25' when ran shuttle at the end of the run, and had dropped significantly throughout our run (we didn't see what the foot gauge was at before we put on). This was a good run, some of the waves may have had better definition at a little lower water, but the larger waves were in great form at this flow.
The first part of the run down to the Harmony Road bridge had two log portages and lacked good surf. All the best waves existed below the Harmony Rd Bridge. I didn't look at access here but this would have been a better put in on this day than Buell Park if there is parking at the bridge.
The first log portage was a little wonky because there weren't many eddies and the bank was blocked by a log, but the water wasn't moving all that fast either. We hopped out onto the log on the right, then had to get past another 5 yards of moving water to the bank where the portage became easy.
The next portage was very easy on the right. Once below the bridge there were many fun waves, mostly catch on the fly. The two best waves had eddy service, but some branches complicated re-entry. A small hand saw would solve this problem at both spots. There were no wood issues below the Harmony Bridge.