Big Run

Savannah Road to Shenango River(Cascade Park)

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DifficultyIII-IV
Length1.5 mi
Avg Gradient50 fpm
GaugeMuddy Creek Near Portersville, Pa
Flow Rate as of 45 minutes
98 cfsbelow recommended
Reach Info Last UpdatedJune 20, 2018

River Description

Possibly the coolest creek I have seen for scenery. Obstacles include rollercoaster tracks and bridges.

For Slip locals, this creek is within close proximity, and the legality, while not certain, has not been a problem like it has on Muddy Creek. Plus, as one of the pictures shows, some of the drops are right at bridges, making multiple runs possible.

Dave Woten wrote:

We parked in the park and quickly ran to scout. Boats were unloaded, camera set, and we began to huck. We were a little nervous because it was posted 'no trespassing.' We were not sure if they were covering liability or seriously enforcing this post. We slid down a little cascade then off the big drop just above the roller coaster pilings. Craig Wood ran it, I ran it, then Craig went back for more. We loaded and drove down the street to change (deciding to leave the scene of the crime quickly). This was on 4/4/2000. Slippery Rock was above 5'. I believe this drop would be runnable anytime the Slip shoots up several (3 or more) feet or surpasses 5'. I opted to land just to the left of the mushroom because I didn't ever see it dry to know what caused it. A week or 2 before we ran it, it was measured with a throw rope at 22'-23'.

As for the creek running, my guess is that it runs maybe 4-5 times a year--either with an epic fall/summer rain, like Hurricane Ivan, or during spring snowmelt following a rainstorm with a few inches of rain. Based on my assumptions of gauge correlations with Muddy Creek and Slippery Rock, the Muddy gauge needs to be at 250 and rising. It has done this maybe 5-10 times within the last two years, you can check that out at the USGS site.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/pa/nwis/dv?format=gif&period=730&site\_no=03106300

Good luck, and if you get any more beta let me know, I'll add it to the site.

Lat/longitude coords of the putin ar

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River Features

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Untitled

Mar 20, 2008


It was an after work 'park & huck.

Brad Roberts
Brad Roberts

Oct 26, 2006


From Rich Yester:
By the way, Big Run near New Castle is finally listed. I think that I was the second or third to run the big falls. That's the one on Thunderballs that we call Big Beaver Falls. First decent was made by Craig Wood. He's the one who told me about it, but since has hurt his back and I don't believe that he boats any longer.