Esopus Creek

It's also very easy to put in at the west end of the route 28 bridge that's right in Big Indian. Put in on the upstream side, which is actually Birch creek perhaps 150 yards upstream of the Esopus. You can then park in the small park by the east end of the bridge. You'll have some fast, narrow stuff to start with, so be vigilant for strainers. At moderately high water I didn't think this was much more than class 2, but a roll and the ability to stop could be very important. About 1/2 mile below route 28 is the bridge for Firehouse Road. Shortly below this is an abrupt drop with a horizon line. I'm not sure if it collects wood, but it would be a very good idea to scout this ahead of time. [Edit: Irene seems to have flattened this out. The current goes right, with a pronounced drop, but not a horizon line. **I've only looked at it from the bridge, so it might be harder to see from your boat.] I'd guess that 500 cfs on the Allaben gauge is pretty low (At 350 CFS on 5/17/12 I thought it looked like it needed another couple hundred CFS to be decent). 1000 was fast and fluid.