Mill Creek

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 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.