Westfield, Middle Branch
River Road to Littleville Dam
| Difficulty | II-III |
| Length | 6.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | West Branch Westfield River at Huntington, Ma |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 142 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 13, 2018 |
River Description
A challenging, technical, and funClass II at low levels. A few scrapy spots, two portages around strainers, and series of rocks and small drops that required a lot of maneuvering. This branch of the river is narrower than the nearby parts of the West Branch, and there are more spots where you need to get through a narrow slot. Very scenic with small falls coming in. A road runs along the whole reach, but there's little traffic on that road and I was barely aware of it.
The M. Br. Westfield (Goss Hts.) U.S.G.S. gage appears to have been discontinued. The guage has been left in place to preserve the information, but a new correlation will have to be made with the West Branch Westfield in Huntington. The listed values are based on the West Branch
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan the Middle Branch today (5/7/17); USGS gage said 3.51 ft. I'd agree with your characterization as 'lower runnable,' but I'm not sure the gage itself reflects what's going on in this reach, as the reach is above the Littleville Dam and the gage appears to be below it. The gage shows the level rising over May 5 and 6 and holding steady May 7, but one of our group who ran it both May 6 and May 7 said it was much higher May 6.
In any case, it was a challenging, technical, and fun Class II at today's level. A few scrapy spots, two portages around strainers, and series of rocks and small drops that required a lot of maneuvering. This branch of the river is narrower than the nearby parts of the West Branch, and there are more spots where you need to get through a narrow slot. Very scenic with small falls coming in. A road runs along the whole reach, but there's little traffic on that road and I was barely aware of it.
WENT DEC.11/04, HAD A GREAT TIME, THE WATER WAS FAST AND FUN WITH GOOD LITTLE DROPS.