Whitewater boating releases will take place this year for the Pit 5 Run on August 1-2, 2026 with flows of 1,500 cfs and again on September 5-6 with flows of 1,200 cfs. All releases run from 10 AM to 4 PM each day.
The Pit 5 Run is a classic stretch of continuous whitewater river through a basalt gorge on the Pit River below Pit 5 Dam. Although the Pit River historically flowed year-round due to abundant springs in its upper watershed—including the headwaters in the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument—most flows are now diverted through a series of hydropower projects, making these scheduled releases one of the few chances each year to paddle this reach.
Working with our affiliate club, the Shasta Paddlers, American Whitewater secured these scheduled boating releases during the federal relicensing of PG&E’s Pit 3/4/5 Hydroelectric Project in the early 2000s. The releases began in 2013 and have since become a regular summer opportunity for Northern California boaters, when many other rivers are too low
