Winooski River
Winooski Falls(Chase Mills)
| Difficulty | III+ |
| Length | 0.27 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Winooski River Near Essex Junction, Vt |
| Flow Rate as of 32 minutes | 5820 cfsrunnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 12, 2023 |
River Description
This wide cascade between the Chace Mill (Burlington shoreline) and Champlain Mill (Winooski shoreline) is the nearest whitewater to downtown Burlington. It can be frustrating waiting for the optimum levels for the main features, but there is always some whitewater to be had. In normal summer flows the ledges are fun to run. At higher levels huge holes form, making it very dangerous. There are several smaller features and waves that form at a variety of levels, about and below the main falls, so go check it out. These features are very level dependent.
Just downstream of the road bridge is a large dam, constructed on top of a large fall. Usually there will be plenty of time to rescue swimmers but take care at higher levels. Except at levels below 1,000 cfs, paddling to points downstream of the bridge is strongly discouraged. The trash rack on the river-right side of the dam amounts to a giant strainer where paddlers are concerned. The river flows through this rack into the power generation turbines or through fish bypass channels. Fortunately, there are very large eddies on river-left and river-right at levels up to at least 4,000 cfs, so if one is sensible and has decent skills one should be able to stay well upstream of the bridge.
A notable feature between the mills is the so-called Green Wave, which normally develops at flows between roughly 2,900 and 4,200 cfs at the upstream end of the large river-right eddy alongside the Champlain Mill. This wave gets better as the level above the dam drops, which happens occasionally as dictated by dam operations. (The dam is normally under automatic control.)
Downstream of the dam is Salmon Hole, where some more features form at various levels. Salmon Hole itself is a very large, slowly rotating pool, which empties into a wide Class II rapid running between an island and the river-right shoreline. At flows from 800 to 2,000 cfs, this rapid can be a good place for inexperienced paddlers to practice basi
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportMade a few more updates this evening.
Updated the river description section with the help of Chris Weed to more accurately reflect the actual name of the falls and update the Salmon Hole wording
Ran it today at 3,970cfs. It was a nice level. Ran river left of center. Down the wave train. The two biggest waves where about 8' or so. Be sure you get out before the dam.
I have been out on the Winooski alot this summer and have become very familiar with what features come in at different levels. There are three main lines to be had at Winooski. After summer rains the level can reach between 5,000 and 10,000 cfs for several days in a row. At higher levels 6,000-10,000 a really fun slide comes in on river right near the walk way that is on the bank. You can put in where there is a sign that says canoe access this is located right at the first drop. This drop is a straight forward V with a smaller surfable wave and hole after the pourover. After this there are several eddy oppurtunities before you get to the slide. You will see where the walk way over hangs the river on the river right and there is a small two foot ledge to boof and then the slide starts the slide is money during high levels. The next line shows up on river left near chase mills, at these high levels 6,000-10,000cfs there is a large rolling pourover over the first drop and it goes into a decent size wave in the middle of the rapid followed by a house sized hole/wave which is the last part of the rapid. This thing gets huge and is seen in the picture shown on the discription. It is flushey and really big and at high levels this line is an easy high class IV rapid. Not for the faint of heart or the intermidiate paddler a bomb proof roll is a must because you will flip when you hit the house wave and about 200 yards down stream there is a damn that would result in immpending death. DO NOT RUN THIS LINE AT HIGH LEVELS UNLESS YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE SAFE! Expert level paddlers will have no problem seeing the line and staying on line.
At lower levels the horse shoe in the middle of the set is good fun to go over, good levels for this line are under 1000cfs but if you're a strong paddler it can be run upwards of 1800cfs. At high levels all sorts of fun fast waves form bellow the last drop in the set some of which do have eddy service, just be on point, hit you're roll and get into the eddy line fast otherwise you will have to take out around the ledge next to chase mills. For park and play put in below the rapid and paddle upstream from the route 7 bridge the best high level stuff will be on river left under the house size wave.
-Jay
First ledge lead in
The staircase on river left being deftly negotiated. As an added evening bonus: several bars and restaurants are a stone's throw away!
Ledge above the falls
The setting sun plays beautifully off the falls for a warm April after work park-and-play outing at Winooski Falls,