Mill Creek

2. Hwy 22 to Hwy 18(Lower)

Difficulty	II
Length	6.4 mi
Avg Gradient	n/a
Gauge	South Yamhill River Near Willamina
Flow Rate as of 1 hour	11 cfsbelow recommended
Reach Info Last Updated	July 20, 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, 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.

The section from Buell County Park to the Harmony Rd bridge is a bit ho-hum with the occasional surf wave and is more prone to wood. Downstream of the Harmony Rd bridge there are many good surf waves, and this is why people do the run.

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:

Mill Creek (Yamhill) SUP

River Features

Put In

Access PointDistance: 0.37 mi

Hwy 22 bridge is the start of the run and where the painted gauge is. Because it can be a little awkward putting in there with the highway, it is more common to park outside of, then walk in through Buell County Park (usually closed during paddling season) 1/4 mile downstream of the bridge.

View details

Take Out

Access PointDistance: 6.33 mi

There is a big parking area at Stuart Grenfell Park that can accommodate many vehicles. Scope your take out eddy, some of them may be blocked by debris.

View details

Trip Reports

Two logs, lots of waves - Jacob Cruser

Mar 14, 2026

Two 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 we 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.

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:

Mill Creek (Yamhill) SUP