New Haven

The lower New Haven is a great alternative run if the New Haven Ledges are too high. It is a significantly easier run than the Ledges, and is a great playboat run.

Park behind the church closest to the bridge. From here there is a small path to under the bridge where there is a nice sloping ledge to slide in from. This will put you into an often squirrelly eddy that serves as the takeout for the ledges. A class III+ rapid ending in a wave train is your warm up here. After this the river flows through a shallow rapid before Baldwin Creek joins at the bend on river right. Immediately after the bend can be a fun play wave at the right levels. It is eddy serviced and worth bringing a playboat on the right day. There are a handful of class III+ rapids that then continue below the next bridge. Approximately ¼ mile below the first bridge is a fun longer rapid, after which the river mellows to class II and then moving water for the next 1¼ miles or so. As you pass town (its a bit hard to tell) the rapids start to build again. When you see the next bridge look for a pull out on the right. This is the biggest rapid on the run and though commonly called the 'Bridge Rapid' its less popular name is 'Coffin Factory' as one of the country's largest coffin factories was once located on the river right bank from the late 1870s into the 1900s. This rapid has several routes to choose from with fun creeky lines through a boulder garden to start before funneling under the bridge with a sizeable hole waiting on river left just below the bridge. Worth a scout if this is a first time down or if the run is feeling at all intimidating. After the drop some III- continuous water leads to the bend in the river where there are 3 channels to choose from. Center is the most popular, but all three go. These can be collection spot for logs and tough to see before becoming committed to a

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