Ridley Brook
Camel's Hump Rd. in N. Duxbury to Winooski R.
| Difficulty | V |
| Length | 2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 100 fpm |
| Gauge | Ranch Brook at Ranch Camp, Near Stowe, Vt |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 24 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 6, 2018 |
River Description
Going up Camels HumpRroad, the put in for the normal run is 100yrds above the first bridge that crosses the river. When the water is medium or higher you can go up as far as you like to add on a few miles of class IV boogie.
The rapid at the bridge is pretty standard fare for the run, so if you don't like the looks of it, the New Haven is close by and a good stepping stone to Ridley.
Below will be a mile or so of bouldery goodness. Keep an eye out for the bridge that marks Bathtub, a fantastic and challenging (5.1) sluiceway with an involved lead in.
More bouldery goodness follows until you are in somebody's backyard. This marks the start of Backyard Boating (5.0). A good eddy exists on the right, scout from here. The whole rapid is rarely run due to a manky exit, but you can run a portion of it and take out before the final drop.
Below here is the start of the Gorge with Video Drop (5.1), a tight falls with a ledge hole directly after. Often portaged, it is not uncommon for swims to occur here so be sure to set safety if you do attempt it. If you portage, do so on the right, and you can put in for the rest of the gorge, which contains The Spout, The Slide and then the exit. It should be obvious to run The Spout far left as the right line is dangerous.
Enjoy the beauty of the lower gorge, it is an amazing place.
After you exit there are a few more boulder rapids till the takeout at the bridge just before it dumps into the Winooski, though it can be fun to paddle out into the Winooski, and mess around on the waves below the railroad bridge and take out just downstream.
There is a gauge painted in yellow on RR of the takeout bridge. Please report levels to necreeking.com.
0 will be low, 4 and up will be high. Using the Ranch Camp Gauge look for at least 70cfs and rising and if it is over 140cfs the river will likely be high. It is a fairly reliable correlation.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportLocated on RR of the takeout bridge. -1 is low, 0 medium low, 1 medium high, anything above is high.
Gauge is located on River Right abutment of the railroad tressle bridge right below the take-out. 1 is about Minimum, 3 is about medium level good for boulders and gorge, 5 and above makes gorge a bit sketchy but boulders down to backyard are good! Please text levels to necreeking@gmail.com when you get a visual. Thanks!
Dave between The Spout and The Slide at a medium low level.
This drop is somewhere in the 12-16 ft range I'd say.
This is pretty much what you'll find from the put in to the gorged up section, lots of boulder dodging , you get the idea.
Everytime i've been on Ridley I've portaged this entire rapid from the very top (where you start to see the houses on river left), but i've heard its marginably runnable. Guess you'll have to make up your own mind when you're there.
There is some wood in the lower slot on river left, looks like its wedged in there vertically, not sure how much in play it is, as again I've walked this one everytime I've been on here.
Gotta be my favorite on the run, its actually close to 8-9ft, you end up between two vertical stone walls, this river is beautiful especially for being roadside.
From the duxbury road bridge look downstream at the river right railroad bridge support. The concrete ledge sticking out from this is used as a guage. If the water is not covering this ledge its too low, otherwise its good to go (although i have done a run with the water level flush with the ledge...but wouldn't recommend it).
Guage for Ridley Brook:
From the takeout bridge, look at downstream at the tunnel under the railway. the right wall of the right side has a flat ledge. If the water is just reaching this ledge on the front corner, the level is just about minimum. From that minimum level, things just get better. (until it gets too high) You want enough water to get down, but not too much