Tenmile
South Dover NY to Gaylordsville CT(10 Mile)
| Difficulty | I-II(III) |
| Length | 5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Tenmile River Near Gaylordsville, Ct |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 1.89 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 16, 2018 |
River Description
The put-in is off Route 55 (Riverview Road) at a spot where there is room for a few cars to pull in and park. The first couple of miles are a mixture of flat water and Class I whitewater, making this a nice introduction for novice boaters. The first rapid of note is State Line, at the NY/CT border. This is a nice bouncy Class II drop with a large eddy behind a boulder river left at the bottom. After State Line there's a bit more flat water and a couple of easy Class II- rapids. At the confluence with the Housatonic River, you pass under a footbridge that is on the Appalachian Trail. There is a long slope on the broad stretch of the Housy here with scattered boulders, some surf waves and squirt lines on river left, and a more fluid line on river right. After some flat water and another Class II slope there's a pleasant surf wave with a friendly eddy on river right. From here, rounding the corner sharply to the right you come to George's, a popular play spot for boaters running Bulls Bridge. For beginner boaters, George's can be run to river right with minimal problems. A bouncier wave train forms the center line. To river left of the main channel a grippy hole forms. George's offers excellent surfing opportunities. A smaller hole is on river left, at the bottom of a minor channel over the drop, but it's quite shallow. After passing the hydro power plant on river left (which is the site of the Bulls Bridge takeout) there's a short stretch of flat water before a decent-sized Class II rapid. There are lots of lines here, the easiest of which is river left, eddying out behind the big boulder there. There's a 2ft high ledge river center that can form a hole at certain levels. The final bit of fun on the river is right by the take-out at Gaylord Bridge, where Route 7 crosses over the Housy. The easy line here is river right, straight shot to the take-out. The paddle takes two to three h
...River Features
Put In
George's Hole
George's is a popular surf spot for boaters running Bulls Bridge. There's an easy line river right, a bouncy wave train river center, and a grippy hole on river left of the main channel.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a report!! Trees fallen on river left of State Line rapid, blocking route with very dangerous strainer. These are new trunks from the ones previously present on river right.
Difficult to see upriver given the obstructed view/elevation difference, and may be covered under higher flow. Scouting/portage will be necessary.
Ran at ~2.26 ft, 03/30/2025. No further anomalies to report.
Put In at Dogtails Corner right off rt 55. Parking right off road, dirt area enough for a pair of cars or so. There is a nice little path down the the waters edge.
There is a spot on the right of Dogtail Corners rd, just off rt 55, that has a place for a couple cars to park and put in. Paddled upstream for a bit than floated back down. Current was moving fairly fast, gps clocked the max speed (coming back down) at around 6 mph. USGS data suggests for Tenmile 472 cfs, and gauge 2.6 ft. The water was high enough that only the largest boulders in the river were an issue. Wouldn't say there was much whitewater. The best part was all of 20 seconds right after the bridge at Dogtails Corner, but still quite mild. 4-5 people were fishing on the river.
Ran on 3/20/2010. Gauge near state line was at 3.0 feet. Good water, few rocks we couldn't clear, fun ride. btw, gauge is back on-line at USGS, though not on americanwhitewater.org.
ran this again 4/14/07. the guage was at 2.96 and although only slightly higher than the last time I ran it, it seemed beefer. At this level, right after state line rapid, there were two good surfing waves, with water deep enough to roll with out hitting rocks. Bulls bridge on-line guage was about 3500 cfs and about 5.40 (give or take) the flinstone guage seems to have faded after 5ft but others guess about almost 3ft. At this level, Georges Hole wasn't as fun since it seemed to keep pushing me to the right. I have been told people have gotten trashed on the extreme right, so I didn't push my luck.
Did this river today 4/15/06 . Although most everything in Southern N.Y. and Ct was too low too run,Ten mile was runnable.The put in in webatuck,headed east from N.Y. is on the left, across the street from a bait and tackle. If you see the river on your left leave the road, you went to far. To get to the take-out in Gaylordsville Ct, continue on 55 East until it ends, make a right then an immediate left down the hill.
ABOUT THE RIVER: The gauge in N.Y. was at 2.90, kind of low but still fun. The first real rapid is Stateline.There's an island, we ran left of the island. I was told to stay to the right, angled right because supposedly there's a possible pinning rock on the left. Although there were two newbies nervous going down, they did fine. Still, some may want to scout, easly done on river left. The rapid is near when the river turns left and you see an island with a lot of logs dumped on it.Not to long after passing a gauge on river left.
A little further down there's a good surf wave which wasn't much at today's level. You can eddie left behind a rock with a branch about the thickness of a forarm sticking out.
When you get to the confluence of the Hous, you can pull out under the bridge for the appalachian trail. It's a pretty area and although Rte 7 can't be too far, I couldn't see or hear cars. My kind of lunch spot.
When you get on the Hous, there's some nice surfin' just as you make the right on to the Hous.
Last rapid of importance, George's Hole. After the river bends slightly to the right and there's a beach on the right,you may want to get out and scout. taking this on the right, you'll simply be on a wave train(easier route). on the left, is the Hole. the Gauge(I think it was after this, but not sure) was at 3.40. At this level. the hole would stop you momentarily,but not a keeper and a lot of fun. I suspect at higher levels, it probably gets monsterous but I doubt it will really recycle, of course I'll watch you go first. After this I believe is when I saw a gauge and then there's another rapid. My opion is the right will give you more bang for your buck,cause there's a small drop on the right.
One more thing, I have no idea why it's rated CL2-3. the only thing I would say might verge on a '3' is Georges Hole on the Hous. Again, the right is just a wave train and if you got someone 'shakey' on you're trip, you can wait for them at the BIG eddy on the right. If they flip, the rapid is short. To get the paddler, boat and paddle shouldn't present to much of a problem.
Ran this at a fairly low level (~200 cfs); doesn't offer much until State Line Rapid, and even that's rather short-lived. At higher levels, the stretch from State Line to the confluence of the Housatonic should offer some worthwhile Class II-III.
Recommended put-in would be on Rte. 55 in Webatuck, NY, right after Dog Tail Corners Road; take-out on Rte. 7 in Gaylordsville, CT, which is on the Housatonic below the Bull's Bridge section. The parking area is about 2 miles north from the intersection of 7 and 55.
State Line at a lower water level - route was easy and waves were tame, but the picture still doesn't quite do it justice