Jouett Creek
KY 418 to Kentucky River (1.8 miles)
| Difficulty | IV |
| Length | 1.7 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 31, 2004 |
River Description
This is an intense creek, with lots of drops and a big slide toward the end. Eddies are few and far between, and there are lots of blind curves. Scouting is advisable, because the creek is narrow and there is always the possibility for strainers. (On 5/31/04, however, no portages were required.)
One possibility for takeout is at Hall's on the River. This requires about a 1/2 mile paddle upstream on the Kentucky River, which may not be possible, since the Kentucky River is often high when Jouett Creek is running. The other possibility for takeout is downstream a few miles at Clay's Ferry, under the I-75 bridge -- the same takeout used for Boone Creek and Calloway Creek.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportVideo of Jouett - March 2015 https://vimeo.com/122150060
Jouett was fairly clean last time it was paddled (Oct 2009) although there are some trees wedged along the left bank towards the bottom in the long slide known as Dead and Bloated. New wood is ALWAYS a possibility so ALWAYS scout this rapid.
The road beyond the bridge was completely washed out. We parked in a grassy area just behind where the picture was taken, and put in just downstream of the bridge.
Several of us paddled Jouett Creek 6-7-03 and luckily decided to scout the long blind slide known as 'Dead and Bloated'. There was/is a multi-log strainer that blocks the entire streambed and would likely snare a paddler.
For Jouett novices, this slide is approx. 0.25 mile below the 6-8 foot vertical drop (Compactor) and just after a good size slide with a meaty hole at the bottom. There is a small circulating eddy on creek left just above the committing left turn where paddlers can scout and/or portage by bushwacking along the bank. Use extreme caution in the slides after running Compactor to prevent washing into this blind and very tight slide! If flushed through the eddy, it might be possible to barrel through dislodging one or more of the smaller logs, although this is not at all advisable.
Some early rapids, before the river gets too hard.
This is the first slide; it's very straightforward. Below it is one of the few pools on the creek.
Mark ascends after scouting compactor.
Mark runs Compactor. The nasty thing about this rapid is that the water is about 2 inches deep at the landing.
I think that if my bow had been pointed down a bit more, I wouldn't have felt as much compression in my torso when I landed.
This is one of the rapids just downstream of Compactor.
These are part of the continuous Class II rapids between the Compactor Exit Raids and the Big Slide Entrance Rapids.
This is one of the rapids that leads up to the Big Slide.
This is the start of the Big Slide.
The start of the Big Slide. My one piece of advice is: keep your boat pointed downstream.