Wills Creek
1. Fairhope to Hyndman
| Difficulty | III-IV(V) |
| Length | 5.7 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Wills Creek Below Hyndman, Pa |
| Flow Rate as of 43 minutes | 1.86 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 17, 2025 |
River Description
This river is a fun class IV with a road alongside allowing most of the river to be car scouted. There is one section which merits a close look, Yo-Yo Rapid, while the rapid itself has changed radically from the description found in most guide books, there is a difficult slot move in the drop just below the house size rock that use to be the main problem in the rapid. The river left slot is against the railroad retaining wall and is severely undercut creating a major problem if things go wrong The center slot appears to be the best shot from above; there are shallow rocks in the landing and just below the slot making the move more difficult than either the right or left slots. The right slot consists of a boof move of a large flattish rock and is relatively clean, however at high levels it becomes a large hole and there is a potential pinning rock 10 feet below with all the current from the slot hitting it.
YO YO HAS CHANGED AGAIN DO NOT RUN LEFT SLOT AS IT NOW HAS A 10 ft X 10Ft PIECE OF CONCRETE IN IT. THE SLAP OF CONCRETE SITS ON AN ANGLE CAUSING ALL FLOW TO GO UNDER THE RETAINING WALL.
Overall this a great run with a creekish feel, there is one other drop that is below the last bridge befor the take out, its is a river wide ledge that can be run easily tight on the right side or through a tough set of slot moves even farther right.
River Features
Put In - Fairhope
The put-in is below the railroad cut, where the road turns away from the Creek, just above Fairhope, PA. Just above the put-in is the Class V 'Railroad' rapid (see above) which resulted from the railroad cutting a new channel to avoid following what is now an oxbow.
Yo Yo
'Yo-Yo' Rapid: While the rapid itself has changed radically from the description found in most guide books, there is a difficult slot move in the drop just below the house size rock that use to be the main problem in the rapid. The river left slot is against the railroad retaining wall and is severely undercut creating a major problem if things go wrong The center slot appears to be the best shot from above; there are shallow rocks in the landing and just below the slot making the move more difficult than either the right or left slots. The right slot consists of a boof move of a large flattish rock and is relatively clean, however at high levels it becomes a large hole and there is a potential pinning rock 10 feet below with all the current from the slot hitting it. YO YO HAS CHANGED AGAIN DO NOT RUN LEFT SLOT AS IT NOW HAS A 10 ft X 10Ft PIECE OF CONCRETE IN IT. THE SLAP OF CONCRETE SITS ON AN ANGLE CAUSING ALL FLOW TO GO UNDER THE RETAINING WALL.
Park takeout
Shortens the run, skipping the mellower stuff down to Hyndman. Good takeout for running laps
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan wills creek on 5-2-26 at 2.66ft down to swimming hole
One riverwide strainer shortly after YoYo rapid that we were able to sneak against the river right bank
YoYo rapid is also very different to anything described before. Here is a short clip of it now https://youtu.be/MkLKMb1i66g
From Doug Lipton on 3/21/20: I just ran Wills Creek Fairhope to Hindman and there is a river Wye strainer about half a mile before the takeout. There is a trailer, beige and brown on the left side of the bank right above it.
Ran Wills on 3/4/2018. Level was 2.97'. This was my first run since the very significant change at YOYO. At this level is was straight forward, just point the boat down stream and hit the center chute. As mention by RNorman there is a submerged boulder in the chute. This boulder would most likely be a problem with any less water and if you flip roll up quickly or tuck tightly. The rapid may need a new name as YOYO just doesn't seem fitting now.
Made it back to Wills 4/2/2018 Level was 2.98'. New log at the top right hand side of Railroad Cut Falls. Also a tree extending from the right side to the left side of the creek just above the first bridge. We were able to scrape over it on the far left.
Ran this yesterday from post office bridge down to the gooseberry swimming hole at 2.63 ft.... What a fun creek run!!!...probably just class III at this level but very fun picking lines going thru chutes!!!...had successful fun run and can't wait to do it Again!!!
Lost a Blue Werner Sidekick paddle just above YoYo on 03 03 12. Name and contact info are on it; pogies were attached; would love to be reunited with it if anyone spots it.
We ran it at 750 cfs and except for the lost paddle, had an awesome run. No change in the rebar situation, so heads up through YoYo. This is a great creek!
04 22 12: Lost paddle is found and returned! Thanks to Vern, who found it while fishing, and to his paddling son Josh, who got it back to Ohiopyle for me!
Thanks! John
The series of spring rain has changed Yo-Yo for the better. The entrance no longer has a bunch of guard rocks, its a pretty easy move to boof off the left side of the shelf
The center line at Yo-Yo has changed for the better after all these spring floods. All the little rocks that used to be just upstream making it hard to get to the left side of the shelf are gone, and its now a straight-forward move to boof off the left side. Its possible the rebar is still in the hole there, we didn't see anything at 7-800cfs, but it may be just underwater.
The right line still looks the same, though the rocks just downstream of the move definitely have some undercut/sieve-like formations
Wills Creek Railroad Cut Falls?? Too high?? 8-8.5ft
Railroad Cut Falls
First drop on Railroad Cut Falls and upstream.