Smith, North Fork
Major Moore's Bridge to Gasquet
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 15 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 40 fpm |
| Gauge | Smith R Nr Crescent City Ca |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 698 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 21, 2025 |
River Description
Flows
The water on this run is always crystal clear unless levels are high, and it's known as one of the most scenic runs on the West Coast. Good flows are available in the winter rainy season, October to April, when an average of 92 inches of rain falls. Summers are dry, so the rivers get too low for boating. There is a foot gauge painted onto a pipe near the take-out for the NF Smith, and it actually correlates pretty well (usually within 0.5' at medium levels) with the USGS Smith River near Crescent City gage. Here is what to look for on the pipe.
6' --- (very low) Has been done at least once by packrafters at this flow, they reported a fun day and a 7-hour trip.
7' --- (very low) Has been done at this flow by IK's, better suited to an overnight approach.
7.5' --- (low) Can be done in hard shell kayaks, but it's about the minimum for this craft.
8' --- A friendly low level for kayakers, and while doable in R2 style rafts some would consider it too low.
8.5' --- Low runnable for rafts, but a worthwhile flow for kayakers looking for more class III than IV.
9' --- A fun level, and a good mix of class III and IV.
10' --- Considered the ideal first time level in any craft. Expect a Class III/IV, pool and drop experience.
12' --- The connoisseurs flow, it becomes continuous and pushy, but still Class IV.
13.5' --- Has some mean spots, not a good flow for those without prior knowledge of the run.
14' --- Pretty filled in, big, fast and continuous. Still class IV (IV+) but unforgiving to a swimmer, with a few large features
16'-18' --- Becoming quite large, few or no eddies, strong boils and seams, very fast currents
19'-20' --- It has been run this high in kayaks and crafts built for big water. Here is a video<
...River Features
Major Moore's Bridge River Access
Put in at the large boulder bar upstream and within sight of Major Moore's Bridge (County Road 305 / Low Divide Road).
Diamond Creek Confluence
Diamond Creek enters the NF Smith on the left at a dramatic confluence featuring a waterfall cascading in from a side stream after recent rains. Boating Diamond Creek into the North Fork Smith is an alternate way to get on the river and makes for an interesting and full day (and a very long shuttle).
Scout Rapid
Gasquet Water Plant River Access
Kayaks, packrafts, and other easily carried craft usually take out at the Gasquet water plant, located on the river left side of the North Fork at the confluence with the Middle Fork. The site is marked by two sets of steel pipes angling into the water. It's a steep scramble up the rocks to the road. Rafts usually continue downstream on the Middle Fork to take out at Margie's River Access along US 199.
Margie's River Access
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThe North Fork Smith offers sweep boaters an ideal mix of technically challenging whitewater, near-continuous current, and stunning scenery / water quality that are undeniably best observed from the elite heights achieved during sweep boat navigation.
Recommended sweep boat flows range from 9.5 to 11 on the pipes, but daring sweep boaters will find an acceptable range exaggerated beyond the common-folk sweep boater comfort zone.
Normal areas of concern for all crafts, including the little boaters, remain true for sweep boaters. In particular, Scout, Serpentine, and Golf Course all represent classic challenges, albeit with straightforward solutions and predictable outcomes.
Unique danger lurks under the guise of “beauty” and is completely unrealized by the little boaters who may offer verbal noises of encouragement to enjoy a moment in the famous NF Grotto. Unfortunately, momentary joy delivers misfortune and suffering to even the most intellectual of sweep boaters when the curtain waterfall inevitably fills the non-self-bailing craft quite quickly and leads to self-inflicted shame. Here, the FOMO hits hard for sweep boaters, who are encouraged to observe the grotto from a safe distance.
Margie’s offers the best take-out location for sweep boaters. Four raft thwarts to use as rollers and three little boater friends makes the task of pushing the sweep uphill to the highway doable, but still ridiculous. Choose your friends wisely for this sweep boat adventure. Your sweep boat problems are enjoyed and shared by those who partake in your shuttle.
A classic winter run on the North Fork Smith, just with a few more boaters than normal. With an ideal flow of 8,000 cfs at the USGS gage in the morning, something close to 75 boaters decided to run the North Fork on this Sunday of BoatSmith 2025. By far, its the most boaters I've ever seen on this run in a day, but it worked out fine as a very long train of boats with most groups generally merged together.
The river was gently rising all day and the pipe at the Gasquet water plant read about 11.5 feet at the end of the run around 3 PM (USGS gage read 8,900 cfs / 11.04 ft. at the same time).
Without a doubt, this is one of the finest river-running day trips on earth and this level was a perfect low-half of medium flow: a littly fluffy with big waves, a few big holes, but well-defined with eddies, seams, and a ton of play. I took my Antix 2 half slice, the perfect boat for the day.
I moved across the country in 1997 specifically to be near the Smith River, which I had never seen but had heard amazing things about (mostly from a dawn-of-the-Internet website guide with photos of the runs). So it was fitting to be back on the Smith again paddling with my long-time boating partner and friend, Eric, who reminded me that we met in early 1998 on a Smith River trip--the North Fork, we both think. Twenty-seven years of the North Fork and I'm always ready to go back!
Joint trip with friends of American Whitewater and Smith River Alliance on the North Fork Smith River.
Incredibly scenic canyon with so many class 3-4 rapids
Sundance Kayak School instructor paddles into Scout Rapid on river left.
Stopping for a lunch break on NF Smith.
Yesterday 1/2/11 I made my 20th trip down this run and every trip confirms my first impressions...that this is one of the most uniquely beautiful class 3/4 river runs anywhere and I count myself lucky to have it in my neck of the woods.
There are a few things to know that will help any trip down this run;
1)Bearfoot Brad, one of the worlds best shuttle drivers (707)457-3365. for a small fee he will save you hours of driving and fill you with tons of local info. (he also posts the daily report of conditions on dreamflows.com)
2)forget about cfs this run is calibrated from the paddlers gauge at the confluence of the NF & MF. For a first time for the class 3/4 boater I'd say 9.5 to 10.5 is the ideal level ... Swimmers and gear can be easily rounded up, you'll have time to look at the scenery and there are still 8 or so class 4's and lots 3' to 4' high wave trains with the rare 5'-6' high wave to spice things up. Above 12 I hear things start to get big and fast, missed rolls at that level and above could result in long swims, lost gear and a epic hike out.
3)lots of surf waves so if your comfortable in class 4 in the playboat... bring it
4)bring sun glasses on sunny days. With a north to south orientation and a low winter sun, the glare can be blinding