Tygart Valley
6. Valley Falls to Hammond(Valley Falls Section)
| Difficulty | II-IV |
| Length | 1.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Tygart Valley River at Colfax, Wv |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 8.35 ftabove recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | February 17, 2024 |
River Description
This is a fun run for when not much else is running. Its sometimes called the last water in West Virginia, after everything else has dried up. It's a relatively stress-free way to get some vertical action. It's a shoulder shuttle: park, put-in, paddle, perambulate to previous point of paddling put-in. Due to an agreement between paddlers and park personnel, you have to sign in before running the Falls.
The sign-in area is the superintendent's office, on river right. The putin coordinates given in this website will direct you to the office.
Putin and takeout on river right. Please don't hike back on river left.
If you go as far as Twist And Shout, takeout out under the railroad bridge (39.40187, -80.09554--see the Map tab). Please don't walk back on the active rail line; it's dangerous, and the park superintendent will not be pleased. (Thanks to Jeff Macklin for this information and for the lat/long coords that should help paddlers stick to river-right boathumpin'.)
Location: From I-79, take Exit 137, then 310 south for 7 miles. Turn right at the Valley Falls State Park sign. Go two miles to the park entrance. Park at 39.38897, -80.08733.
Paul Herring sez: 'The state park named for the Falls is accessed from the river-right side of the US 50 bridge in Grafton by turning on Rt 310, which parallels the Tygart down to the park. The gauge to look for is at Colfax...You want to find the Colfax road for shuttle if running the whole thing, which includes Hamburger Helper and several other wierd rapids but is mostly class I/II the last couple of miles. A rough dirt road runs from downstream along river left, but the park road is much better access.'
kdavis wrote, in Boater Talk 2002-08-11(http://boatertalk.com/forum/BoaterTalk/218315):
'Thought i was going to drown today. Pretty scary. Second time down through the falls at Valley
...River Features
Put In
Valley Falls
Hamburger Helper
Probably the ugliest looking drop in the Valley Falls stretch.
Twist And Shout Takeout
Take out under the railroad bridge and walk back. Please don't use the active rail line to walk back; it's dangerous and unnecessary, and it'll cause needless conflicts with Park personnel.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportBoat (without paddler) pinned below the 'spout.' The boil is sticky and pushes up against the rock. It kept the boat and paddle for about 30 minutes before spitting it out.
I was there playing at low water--running the second drop, river right 'spout' backwards and such. I had no thought of any consequences at such a low level. I was wrong. I went too far left and upside down on dropping the spout on a third run. The boil pushed me and my boat up against the rock, preventing a roll and it wasn't letting go. I swam out no problem. However, the boil/hydraulic kept both my boat and paddle for about 30 minutes against the seemingly partially undercut rock face. (The paddle was not visible and only about 3-4 inches of the boat's edge was visible.) Since the boat seemed stuck for good after 30 minutes, I went to tell the park ranger that there was no body in the boat and no need for any alarm. Well it was at this time that the feature finally decided to spit the boat and paddle out—while I was 100 yards away. I had to retrieve it about 1/4 mile downstream pinned in a slot. And I never found the paddle.
While I still think there isn't any significant danger to your person at the really low levels, these falls aren't 'consequence free' at any level.
The 'Spout' on the second drop.
I don't know why anyone would say that this is a 'safe' place to paddle. The hydraulics, although they can be trivial at low levels, are potentially deadly at higher levels. It all depends on the level, and knowing the differences requires experience. As my biochemistry teacher likes to say, 'The dose makes the poison,' meaning that a little of almost anything, like water, might be safe, but a lot of something, especially water, can still kill you. For example, the Russell Fork is great fun at 150 cfs, but should you be there at 1500+? Safe to say, 'No!'
Just going down the slide on the left of the river, good stuff
Photo by Jesse Wilson
Just having some fun dropping the falls
Photo by Jesse Wilson
Going down the run on the left, one cool little run for sure... you start with a little boof and then you gotta paddle hard river left to avoid hit the rock... it's pretty rad for how small it is!
Photo by Robert Scott
Tried to run Valley Falls yesterday (11/28/09). Gate was closed. Called the ranger who told us park was closed. Park was still open if you want to walk the 1 mile down the road and back up again, but there is no car access to the falls. Probably best to call before heading there to see if the gate is open.
The ranger gave me that line last year about the access road being inaccessible which turned out to be quite false. It was pretty easy to find with a little poking around on the far bank.
I think he is just trying to avoid having any issues there with paddlers getting in trouble.