Big Sandy Creek (Cheat trib.)

You should ignore Robert Farmer's second comment below (the 4/22/11 one, not the one about the waste dump plan). The statement that the confluence rapid is the very first one is completely inaccurate. There are about a half dozen class II+ rapids on the Big Sandy above the mouth of the Little Sandy, one Class III, and many of lesser difficulty. The 'miles of flatwater' statement is also misleading. The flat water section of the Upper Big Sandy is somewhat longer than the flat water section of the Little Sandy, but I'd say it's only about 1.5 times as long, the scenery is pretty once you leave the interstate, and once the rapids start they are quite continuous. The difficulty builds slowly, which makes it nice as a confidence builder for a person with Class II-III skills. I often take Class III paddler friends down the Upper BS who are looking for something lively but not too intimidating. Like Robert, I prefer the Little Sandy to the Upper BS, and I agree that the Little Sandy is a bit more difficult, more interesting, and more fun than the Upper BS, but there is plenty of II+ fun on the Upper BS above the Little Sandy.