Crooked Creek (Montgomery Co.)
NFR 43 to Little Missouri (3 miles)
| Difficulty | III-IV+ |
| Length | 3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 115 fpm |
| Gauge | Little Missouri River Near Langley, Ar |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 4.20 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 7, 2014 |
River Description
This micro creek flows along NFS road and into Little Missouri above Albert Pike campground. Road scout and run what looks good!
Note: The combination of steep banks and small creek size tend to clog the creek with wood from time to time, so keep look out.
Two main sections of drops.
The upper section is tiny and consists of 10+ drops of 5-8 feet in rapid succession. A quick break and then 'Backbreaker Falls', a 15+ foot rocky drop.
The lower section is 0.6 miles with 4 main ledgey/slot drops in the class III/IV range. This starts at the low water bridge for the road that goes to Little Missouri Falls. The first drop is a stairstep ledge with a hole or two among the rocks. Cross under a bridge and be prepared to run the next two drops in quick sucession. A large boulder on the left and a steep bank on the right. Work around to the left behind the boulder and take one of several routes over the ledge. The far left offers a slot/boof/turn move. The next drop offers a sweet boof over an 8-foot ledge. Watch for the piton rock on the lip and bottom right. The hole can get hungry a big levels. Work through the willows to the take-out bridge and last rapid. Go under the bridge, negotiate the tight rocky turn to the the left. A few smaller drops are located below the takeout bridge and are accessible by the road.
River Features
Put In
Elbow Check
Last drop of the upper gorge. A small ledge leads to a tight slot move. Creek flatens out from here to the next road crossing but tends to collect wood.
Backbreaker Falls
Just below the road crossing downstream of the upper gorge lies the tallest drop on the creek. The waterfall is next to the road and easily scoutable. Best line is on the right. Watch the pitons.
Middle Section
A small parking area/privitive campsite can be used to access the creek below Backbreaker Falls. The other fork joins and doubles the flow. From here down to the Little Missouri Falls road crossing the creek lacks defined drops, but is a nice paddle. Beware of downed wood.
Lower Gorge Access
The Little Missouri Falls road crossing serves as the main access to the lower gorge. If the upper is too low, run laps on the lower. If the upper is running, do a couple laps and wait for the lower to drop out some.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportA perfect line on the last drop in the last gorge on Crooked Cr., a beautiful (and infrequent) run in Ouachita mountains of Arkansas.
Bottom ledge of the upper section.
lazer airin it out