Beaver
3. Taylorville Section
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 0.68 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 7, 2021 |
River Description
River Guide Video
Releasing on weekends in September, this is the easiest of the three Beaver sections. This one-mile stretch offers an introduction to creeking. It's easy to shuttle up and run it two, three, or (pushing it!) four times in a release day.
Also see the Moshier Section (Class IV-V), which runs on Labor Day weekend, the Eagle Section (Class V-V+), which runs on a similar schedule to the Taylorville Section, and the Raquette River, Stone Valley Section.
Posted by Chris Koll:
The releases are a product of negotiations by American Whitewater that resulted in a series of 11 whitewater releases during a typical year spread over three challenging sections of Beaver River whitewater. The sections are dry except for release days when Orion Power allows water to spill back into the natural river bed creating whitewater runs ranging from class 3 to class 5.
The runs are typically short--varying in length from one to four miles--and on most release days water is scheduled on two different parts of the river. Boaters can easily paddle one section of the Beaver in the morning and then catch a second section in the afternoon.
The whitewater sections include the Taylorville run, a 1.5-mile stretch that features six class 3-4 drops. While some of the drops appear intimidating--particularly a steep 30-foot slide--the rapids are fairly straightforward and are appropriate for strong intermediate paddlers looking for an introduction to steep creeking.
The Moshier section is the jewel of the river, a 4-mile run that includes two runnable waterfalls, a number of easy class-3 rapids, and concludes with a long, t
...River Features
Beaverator
(Some call it 'Come Home to Jesus,' but that sounds too much like a rapid on the Lower Meadow. I prefer this name.) After a couple of eddies, the signature of this rapid is a big, munching hole, which is grabby enough to give a serious beatdown to some excellent boaters. You can avoid it with a right-to-left boof, or you can sneak it down the far right, or if you're really ballsy, you can try to punch the hole. (Tell yer buds to have a throw rope handy.)
Great White Slide
A long slide, this one is pretty straightforward. Run down the center, and power left or right to avoid the big hole at the bottom. Scout from the right.
Dogleg
Just after the Great White Slide pool, you can go right or left of the island. Right is a technical rapid with ledgy holes at the beginning; Left of the island is easier.
Mindscrambler
Those who run the left side of the island will find a short, narrow sluice before the pool. Those who've run the right side usually take out on river left and hike up to run this thing. It looks intimidating, but it's short and if it flips you, there's a large recovery pool.
Powerline Boof
This rapid gives a choice: either boof on the right, or run a short slide on the left. The boof is the harder move; it requires a hard right-to-left drive to get off the flake. Get a little right, and you risk running an ugly channel on the right. Lots of skin has been donated here.
Whether you run the right or the left, the river snakes around to the left, through a couple of holes culminating in an 8-foot boofy drop. It's a short paddle through a shallow rock garden to the takeout, where you get to surf one or two nice play waves before shuttling back upstream to do it again.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportWorth noting that Mindscrambler has a habit of making inexperienced paddlers smack their heads on a rock as they flip in it. Ran it twice, smacked head twice. I spoke to a local guide, who said that you could paint a target on the rock where it happens, and get quite a few bullseyes per release. Wear a good helmet.
This is a great section of slide-after-slide-after-slide. If you put in as high as possible, you can warm up with a Class 5 move that gives better-than-even odds of kicking your butt. Putting in lower will line you up for a giant slide 60-70 feet long (not high). It's not really that easy, either, although it kind of looks like it should be. From the pool below, there is a choice of two routes, then a cavalcade of small slides and drops that will freeze your face into a permanent grin---or at least an all-night grin. Your fun-meter will be pegged at redline, for sure.
Eric Adsit
This section of the Beaver can be run at much lower flows, down to 700 cfs I believe. It is very scrapy and less enjoyable but still runnable. It makes for a great afternoon run in the summer after a decent rain.
So, I standing there with my friend, telling her that the hole is supposed to be really sticky, but on my previous 2 trips there, I've never seen anyone get stuck. We start talking about how much water is flowing back into the hole from upstream and I say, 'You know, that really may be pretty sticky.' About that time, the carnage began. Green boat(email me with your name and I'll either add your name or delete the video, at your pleasure) dropped into it. The next few boaters took a beating in it. That hole is sticky.
Yellow boat dude. Email me.
acreekfreak at gmail dot com
Red boat dude, email me at acreekfreak at gmail dot com
The hole at the bottom isn't sticky, is it?
We drove up from the south in search of the Beaver.
Along the way we found the Fish, and had brownies for dinner.
I flipped at the bottom of this rapid on my previous run and had my paddle ripped from my hands in the hole. I was able to hand / rock roll up and had to carry back to try it again... this time it worked out alright.
Big Fun!!!
This rapid has alot of confusion as to the size, height, etc. We came to the conclusion that it was roughly 30 degree slope, at a 40 ft. drop, and over 200 ft. long. Either way, it got your undivided attention.
There are 2 waves at the end of this section. The first one is a tad shallow and irregular, but definitely surfable.
The is the 2nd of 2 waves at the end of the Taylorville Section.
It is more of a hole than a wave. Very even and easy to spin. Vertical moves may be difficult at this level, but at higher levels it should be deep enough.
There is a small waterfall at the end of the last rapid before the waves. It is about 6'. Run it left of center or you will get munched.
The Great White Slide on the Taylorville Section of the Beaver River. Rock-n-Roll!