Mad River

Parking is on the west side of Harshman Road and south side of the river, just inside Eastwood MetroPark. Enter the park at the traffic light (not at the lake entrance) and take the first right inside the park and follow the driveway down to a loop with a changing room. River access is by walking down the bike path underneath Harshman Road to the gravel beach just in front of a DANGER sign. If you are more adventurous, you can walk past the DANGER sign through the brush and around the corner to a spot with some good ferry practice and a small one-foot ledge that you can run (Class II). At higher water, there is a roughly four-foot-tall slide above this ledge that can also be run (Class III), but wood is frequently present and so this is very rarely done. Those choosing the more standard put-in will be in a small eddy, and it is not difficult to ferry across the river into a larger eddy on river right. Large groups will want to do this to make room for more to get in. As you start downriver, watch out for a piece of rebar sticking up in the middle of the river underneath the bridge (at 4+ feet this is submerged).

A gravel bar/island which previously defined this rapid was mined out, and is now reforming back. Wood/strainers often catch on the banks on both sides.

Go river right of the island (river left is too shallow to paddle). The current speeds up and there are eddies both left and right to practice ferrying and eddy hopping. While most of the river is quite shallow, the main channel through here is deep enough to roll if you want to practice your roll in moving water.

Bernie's Hole is created by an exposed water main pipe that provides most of the drinking water for the City of Dayton. The pipe creates an effect similar to a very weak low-head dam; it can be run straight on, but it is safer to portage river right or run river right; the Whitewater Warehouse folks have at times attempted to maintain a shallow but runnable slide on the right as a safer option. As of spring 2025, with the removal of the center island of the old first drop and stabilization of the bleachers, it is now safe again to go far river left as well (previously the current on this side fed directly into an undercut).

Surfing this hole is NOT recommended; the pipe has exposed sharp metal waiting for anyone to be window-shaded. One person who tried this in 2023 shortly after the collapse got window-shaded and was cut just below his eye, requiring stitches; less than an inch of difference and he could have lost an eye. Don't risk it.

Access point near the main parking lot of Eastwood MetroPark. From the river, look for a small beach on river left just above the old second drop. From the parking lot, go toward the shelter and look for a gap in the trees. The two are connected by a steep, but manageable slope.

I suppose you can put in here if you want to completely avoid Bernie's Hole, but otherwise there's not much point in using this as a planned access. This is more useful as an emergency access point (in case of injury, etc.) or as a place to stop for a bathroom break (there are restrooms on the opposite side of the parking lot).

What used to be the second drop of Mad River Run before the collapse. This drop survived but is slightly more aggressive now without the first drop holding back water, and its character has changed again with the removal of the center island.

To run this straight, follow the green tongue on river right (it's further right than you think while sitting in the pool above) into a small wave train. Surfers will want to get into the eddies on either side and work their way across, hopping from wave to wave as well as a small eddy or two amidst the controlled chaos. This is not an easy place to surf, and you won't be doing any tricks, but it's good skill practice.

Marked by three former railroad bridge abutments -- the bridge itself is long gone. The center abutment offers some interesting attainment practice -- you can do laps around it until you get tired.

For running this, start from between the center and river right bridge abutments to ride small waves, working eddies and pourovers by the concrete revetment under the bikeway.

There are some surfing options here as well: The top wave/hole can be caught on the fly with a little practice and luck, and below it are some surfable waves with reasonable eddy service. Once you progress past this point, a couple of the waves below are also surfable if caught right.

After passing the Findlay St bridge, the river splits in two around an island. Go right, following the current (the left side is too shallow usually). The current will carry you around to a gap between two islands, at which point you'll switch over to the left side (again, following the current). This part is simple Class I moving water, but as you reach the end of the second island, you enter a stretch of Class II boogie water that lasts for a short while. At common summer levels, you can bump up against some submerged rocks here. Once you're through this, you're home free.

Take-out at Whitewater Warehouse for those not wanting to paddle down to RiverScape MetroPark. Climb out at the eddy that cuts back into the river right bank, walk up through the grass (beware of goose poop) to the bike path and then follow the bike path a short distance upstream to the back of Whitewater Warehouse. This can also be used as a put-in to run down to the RiverScape and Art Institute features.

Take-out at river-left, walk up the levee through RiverScape MetroPark to parking spots on Monument Ave in downtown Dayton. On evenings and weekends, the Miami Conservancy District parking lot off of Jefferson St is free public parking and makes a nice place to change and debrief (please be courteous and use a pop-up changing tent or a changing robe if you need to expose your parts).

Just below this take out are two great man-made drops on the Great Miami River thanks to donations made by the community through the Downtown Dayton Partnership.