Konkapot River

Thanks for updating the map for this. We ran it now and then back in the 80's in slalom boats (that is all we had!) It is showing the correct reach now, but we never paddled all the way to Ashley Falls. Instead we took out at the bridge on Konkapot Road. After that it is all flatwater. There is a pretty interesting drop that you can see from Clayton Mill River Road called Lewis Falls after a friend who got pinned there. He lived but gave up whitewater. It is a ledge that falls off to the right after some old foudations on the river right. We used to eddy left to set up to slide over the drop. If you mess up and go straight you will end up in a rock pile in the trees. Put in was just above the Hayes Hill Road bridge but I checked it recently and it is totally overgrown with multiflora rose and the new bridge leaves no place to park. There is stout section above the put in in that you can see from Mill River Great Barrington Road. We named it Tombstone but never ran it. There is a slot on the right that looks doable but it is right next to and above a large undercut boulder. After that a series of ledges. Lots of wood in there now. No river access there either as it is all poster private property. Not looking like a viable run at this point. Note: A ways down from Mill Rive, below Lewis Falls, Umpachene Falls Park is on the left. You can put in below the falls if there is enough water and shoot down to the Konk. I know a few guys who have run the falls and both hurt their backs due to spinal compression. I have heard that there is a stout creek run above the falss but have not seen it. These are small creeks so of course watch out for strainers!

The river on the map here is actually the Housatonic, NOT the Konkapot. I have never paddled there but it is most likely all flat water. The Konkapot is a fun little creek run that starts in Mill River and continues south past Umpachene Falls Park. The take-out is at a bridge on Konkapot Road in what I believe is Southfiield, not far from North Canaan, CT. It is class II and III with one tricky little ledge drop we call Lewis Falls that can be seen from Clayton Mill River Road. As far as I know nobody has run it in years so there could be plenty of strainers.

There is an interesting section of the upper Housatonic in West Stockbridge that is not listed here at all. It starts at the Glendale Dam in West Stockbridge and flows through some easy but fun class II rapids for a couple of miles to the town of Housatonic. The take-out is behind the Berkshire Mountain Bakery. If there is enough water the dam at the put-in can be run on the far river left. It is 30 feet high and very steep. You have to be in the right spot, about ten feet from the wall, in order to hit the right spot. Anywhere else would be very bad.

Here is video of me and my buddy West running the dam for the first time back in 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbkzfQqch90

Have fun and be safe!