Saco
Steep Falls
| Difficulty | I-II+(V+) |
| Length | 0.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Saco River at Cornish, Maine |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 8440 cfsrunnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | October 5, 2010 |
River Description
Excellent Surf Wave Below the bridge at High Flows and two amazing waves upstream of the bridge. One of the Waves is in the Center of the river, you can't miss it. The second in off a ledge right next to shore and is eddy serviced. This is an super fun spot in the spring and during high flows.
Beware that at higher flows, a killer hydraulic forms over the ledge that is visible during low water.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportOriginally from:Tim Jones;
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2018 12:52 PM;
To: info@americanwhitewater.org;
This has a great reputation as a high-water play spot. But at lower levels (750-2000+ cfs) the big features have disappeared and the deep, obstacle-free current line just above the bridge becomes a near-perfect spot for practicing ferrying, eddy peels, beginning surfing, and rolling in current and waves.
Big eddy on the river left. The is a big surf wave in the center of the river and on river left of the ledge
Josh Geib at Steep Falls 13,000 CFS
~3300cfs as I recall
Small cliff below bridge @ steep falls
Josh Geib on Center wave
Steep Falls is sick at high water 10,000+ we paddled the wave at 13100cfs yesterday and it was great....kinda hard to set up sometimes but a crazy shoulder thats really steep the entry onto the wave is kinda like dropping into a half pipe. Just make shure u watch out for the trees in the eddy they can be a real pain. Also try to say away from the left side of the wave its really flushy..there is a big wave hole thing in the middle of the river that can be fun....
Fun as hell!
Rippin
Approx. 12,000 cfs