Ogden
02. Smokey Bear to Rainbow Gardens (The Narrows)(The Ogden Narrows)
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 1.4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Ogden River Bl Pineview Res Nr Huntsville, Ut |
| Flow Rate as of 39 minutes | 202 cfsrunnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 21, 2026 |
River Description
The Narrows: From the Smokey Bear sign putin (across from the Indian Trail trailhead), you get some class 3 to warm up on. The Green bridge is the last possible class III takeout, below there are no big eddies, and the drops pick up a little punch as you approach the a drop that is the start of the class 4; sometimes a boof left is possible there. At medium low flows (200-300), it helps to know the line to avoid some FU rocks. The drops are very continuous but relatively clean. A left eddy that is big enough for a few boats along the rock wall is an option, then comes the Wall Drop along the concrete bend. Go left at the wall drop, or have left boat angle at least, then a big left eddy is the best one on this section. Catch your breath, then peel out and focus again! A hundred yards below there is an aerated drop called 'the demon' that is easier on center-left. The right line here can flip you, and there is a rock on the right just below the hole that has caused a pin. Then it eases off a bit, till the waterfall section. This is a fun little section you can hike laps on even at low flows (200). At high water there is a sticky hole under the road bridge on the right wall. Below the bridge, at medium flows, the left bank is undercut. Then you pass the hot springs, which have been fenced off since 2014, there is some good eddy hopping in this section, and then the final 'narrows' choke, a left line at low flows, which is another good place to road scout for wood.
Wood is often an issue and in previous high water years has caused some very close calls for local paddlers. The good news is you can scout the entire thing from the trail on the north side of the river (cross over the foot bridge near the artificial waterfalls at the mouth of the canyon.)
Since this run is roadside, its possible for intermediates to do Rainbow Gardens, then the Pineview section, then do the lowest parts of the Narrows, moving the putin upstream a little bit at a time, to
...River Features
Green bridge
The Gauntlet
A steep series of drops and holes.
Wall drop
The Wall drop, AKA Poison Ivy.
demon drop
A cruxy drop that does not really stand out from a bank scout on the north side; and its hard to road scout because there is no shoulder, and no riverbank. A center rock and a left rock form a good center-left line at lower flows, with a lateral wave on the right side that is tricker. One problem with flipping here is the pinny rock on the right, immediately below.
At med-high flows like 700 the leadin laterals tend to push you right, which is a tougher line through the hole.
wood footbridge
You can putin under this bridge on the north side, for the short version of 'waterfall laps', or hike upstream for a longer version.
Waterfall drop
Easily road scoutable and photographable. IV (which is not an option here).
putin below road bridge
For a short intro to the Narrows you can putin just downstream of the road bridge.
Narrows choke
Often collects wood on the top rock. A quick bank scout from the road. Just downstream of the huge pipe over the road. A nice right eddy above.
At lower flows the right line is too bumpy, so the tight left 'narrows' is done.
diversion with right eddy
Diversion grate on right with right eddy, collects wood that can jut out into the line.
Search for the clean line through the boulder jumble.
This putin for Rainbow Gardens is a bit more technical than the rest of that run.
old road bridge
This is strictly a footbridge now, with a large eddy on the right; possible putin for Rainbow Gardens section (the furthest upstream putin for Rainbow Gardens that does not increase the difficulty).
Narrows takeout
The most popular takeout, just past the newer footbridge, with plenty of free parking on the north side.
Some levels form a surf wave at the secondary wave under the footbridge.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportnew almost river wide huge log in narrows section. also new smaller tree at start of narrows that also takes up 3/4 of river. Both are passable but be aware
There is a river wide log on this run now with a window between the branches that you can run. It was running 318 today and it was not to pushy before the tree and you can see it coming from along way away. But its not a spot that you can scout from the road
200-250 Is a level that is runnable allowing for boofs and spotting for later high water level runs
I drove by this the other day and it looked very runnable. At 650cfs, there was plenty of water, but it doesn't look much worse at 1000. My guess is that somewhere around 400 - 500 is minimal.
This is the top of the crux move. Hit it all the way left to avoid surfing into the wall then go back to the middle and cut left again to avoid the old beaver dam. The rest is all down the middle and don't flip.