Todd Fork
Middleboro Road to Pike Street
| Difficulty | I-II |
| Length | 8.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 20 fpm |
| Gauge | Little Miami River at Milford Oh |
| Flow Rate as of 39 minutes | 5.55 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 28, 2017 |
River Description
Todd Fork is a fun run on which to learn or refine basic whitewater canoe and kayak skills, with relatively frequent rapids, some having technical merit (e.g., strainer avoidance, some maneuvering in rapids to avoid rocks, etc.). Some local outfitters put canoes on Todd Fork when their primary choice (the Little Miami) is too high.
Strainers are a random but recurring concern. Toward the end of the run, near Morrow, one river-left channel (having more flow than the river-right channel, thus seeming the preferred route) had two strainers in rapid succession, which could not be seen very much in advance by boat scouting. A downed tree extended most of the way across from river-left, and a root ball took up the river-right third about twenty feet downstream. The tree was duckable in a kayak (at 3' level on the gauge), but had not enough clearance for a canoe. The river right channel looked uninviting with a choked-off entry, but was clear afterward. Many side channels which are only runnable at higher levels can not be river scouted and often contain blocking strainers. Large rains move large debris into and out of rapids. Bottom line, if you can not see well-down it, you should probably not enter into it!
At 1' to 3' on the painted Middleboro Bridge gauge (approx. 6.0' - 8.8' on the Little Miami), Todd Fork is runnable in open canoes and recreational kayaks. Some experience is recommended. Levels from 3' to 6' on the Middleboro Bridge gauge (approx. 8.8' - 12' on the Little Miami), require a bit more skill, but are not unduly hazardous. Intermediate skills are suggested at these levels and beyond.
Some rapids rate II+ in higher water due to maneuvering requirements and the possibility of unpleasantly long swims. The most difficult features for novice boaters may be two right-turns (close to Morrow) where the main flow runs into river-left banks. These features are easily visible (for anyone looking downriver attentively), and sneak routes are avai
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportTodd Fork is running. It's flat with some riffles, which is good if you're not looking for any whitewater. A word of caution about the put in: DON'T PARK ON RIVER RIGHT UPSTREAM SIDE! This is the obvious place to put a vehicle, but the shoulder is way too soft and steep. Don't park there. Drop the boats and then go back down the road a ways to a more solid berm or go up to Clarksville and put in there. This will add probably a couple of miles to the trip.
gauge on this page little miami guage in milford was 6.5 ft and river was NOT RUNNING...... guage should read @ LEAST 7.5ft
IDEAL level is 9ft plus
Team Hobo here again, We just got done running the strech from Clarksville Rd. Inlet to Morrow, Outlet. Aprrox 8miles and 3 hours or under. Ran it a estimated 5-6 feet which seemed low considering the drop in elevation at points, We see the real potential here, was even fun at the lowest possible lvl to run our humble opinion, Can't wait to run it at 10ft or more boy would it really rock them. Plan on doing Paint Creek when water level is right, Team Hobo Out! Happy Creek running and water action, stay safe!
After you go in at Middleboro RD the first tressel you come to is where my family's property begins and goes to the next tressel. I have spent the biggest part of my life on that part of the river and find it to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. When the river is high enough I would suggest it to anyone. I used to have a farm party with live bands and go-cart racing all day and night. If you're floating down the river and hear music stop in and say hi.
Jeff Pence http://201frontstreet.com
todds fork was incredibly lame,to give it a class II rating is a big over-estimate of what it really is I ran it on 12-15-07 at around 3 feet on the midleboro bridge and there might of been 25 feet of a slight chop on the entire 9.1 mile section to the takeout in morrow
We ran Todd Fork yesterday, 12/15, for the first time. AW stated river level @ 7.53 at 9am. Finally a chance to run it. It was a beutiful run with all the snow, but very few features. We were most disappointed. Will probably stick with Whitewater River at this point. It was a fun, fast moving stretch, but we like more features than Todd Fork had to offer. Only a couple good sets of rapids/choppier water. Only scraped a couple of times. River was clear of debries and appeared to be of good quality. If you go during hunting season, you might want to leave a note stating your purpose. Got back to the put in to be questioned by game warden. Land owner called thinking we were out hunting. No problems though. Didn't get the feeling that we weren't welcome.
I ran Todd's on 5/19 and 5/20. On 5/19 (two days after substantial rain) the Middleboro gauge was at 2.5 feet and I found it to be a great run. I didn't drag at all and found many 1-2ft wave trains and several small but surfable waves. The highlight was just below the ball fields in a right hand bend where there was a nice hole of 2-3 ft to run through (easy walk back to run again. The next day I ran it with morgans and went 12 miles from 350 to Morrow. The water level was under 2 ft and seemed to bwe getting a lil scrappy. Right now I'm awaiting more rain to try it again.........
Typical avoidable strainer in Todd Fork. The water looks pretty muddy at this level.
For the full-sized version of this photo, click here.
This gauge is on the upstream side of the Middleboro bridge, a mile or so south of Hwy. 22/3 and four or five miles east of Morrow, OH. The 1 foot level in this picture corresponds to a 1800 cfs level on the Little Miami. This photo was taken about 48 hours after heavy soaking rains and widespread flood warnings, so this river DOES go down fast.