Cheat, Shavers Fork
4. Bemis to Bowden
| Difficulty | II-IV |
| Length | 9.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Shavers Fork Below Bowden, Wv |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 4.51 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 12, 2026 |
River Description
This is a very beautiful stretch of river. Immediately below Bemis the rapids are nice III-IV for a mile or so of busy maneuvering. At some point things flatten out to I-II, giving you time to enjoy the stunning scenery. The river can be shallow in spots in the final stretch.
River Features
Put-In - Bemis
To Bemis Put-in: From Route 33/55 heading west towards Elkins, turn left at Alpena (at the Alpine Motel) onto CR 27, following it to Glady. At Glady, bear right onto CR 22, which heads over the hill and down to Bemis. At Bemis, park along the right side of the road directly across the bridge over the Shaver's Fork (ask permission at the house on the right, the owner was very friendly and didn't mind us parking there at all- let's keep it that way).
Take-Out - US 33
Take-out - US 33. (The trailer park where US 33 turns from the river).
Alt Take-out - Old US 33 Bridge
Alt Take-out - Old US 33 Bridge
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportFinally got to run the Shavers Fork 3/31/18, McGee Run to US 33 (the trailer park where 33 turns from the river). When we put on, Cheat Bridge was at 562 cfs/6.9'. When we took off, Bowden was at 1500/6.5. Most agreed that any much lower would have started exposing many FU rocks.
By a Caltopo trace, McGee Run to Bemis is actully 15.4 miles and Bemis to 33 is 8.9.
From Bemis to route 33 is something over 8 miles. Continuing to the listed takeout makes it about 13 miles, not accounting for all of the little bends in the river. The listed figure of 14 miles might be a bit off, but it's close enough.
This section is, PERHAPS, 7 miles long, though I doubt it. Also, at moderate flow (the shoal below the put-in is shallow-ish, +/-1300cfs) there may be 2 Class III rapids, MAYBE, the rest is Class II and scenic
Robert Farmer---One day around 2005, give or take a little, a kayaker drowned on this section when torrential rains upstream sent a wall of water down the river. If I recall correctly, it was an instantaneous increase of about 2000 cfs, so be aware of weather conditions upstream; the watershed is pretty big.