Big Fork

The MN DNR brochure describes the falls as 'a series of four falls dropping 40 feet in a quarter mile, rates a Class VI.' However, elsewhere it says 'Big Falls (Class IV-VI).' Parks flank either side of the river, with camping, drinking water, and picnic shelters and tables.

Cliff Langley provides (2011-03-21):

Big Falls on the Big Fork River is located right in the town of Big Falls. Heading north on Highway 71 a bridge will cross over the Big Fork River and Big Falls begins under this bridge. We expected a short section of class IV. We were hoping for it to be a fun section of river because the online gauge read 1500 cfs the day before, being 'upper runnable'. Scott (a fellow kayaker who paddled here a few weeks prior) said it was medium-low when he paddled it at 900 cfs. His take was that it was a really fun and there were multiple lines.

The river forks around a rock island and meets again about a hundred yards downstream of the bridge. Most of the water flows in the right channel. Rarely does something meet or exceed ones expectations but this section of whitewater did just that. Expecting a fun class IV-ish run we found a long continuous section of whitewater. We put in on the right channel beginning with a class III wave train into a very beefy class IV+ rapid full of diagonal waves and big holes. More crashing waves lead into a section of class III+ and IV- boogie water where the two channels converge. Here you could go river right and scrape over some slides, safe of the big holes and crashing surging waves on river left, but what fun is that?

The final 100 yards or so (on river left) was a pumping class V with a real big water feel. The river left entrance to the class V begins with a juicy slide leading into a wave hole then immediately into a more narrow aerated slide funneling into a powerful wave hole just off the steep rocky left bank. A short and fast moving aerated pool of 20 feet le

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