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Other Whitewater Trips on the Chetco River
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 Lodging in Oregon
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:: Chetco Gorge Whitewater Kayaking & Canoeing Trip
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Chetco Gorge Whitewater Kayaking & Canoeing Trip on the Chetco River |
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Related River Guidebooks on AllAboutRivers |
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Chetco Gorge Info
Use this information at your own risk. See our legal notices. |
| Put In: |
Primitive Road 067 |
| Take Out: |
NF 170 Chetco Gorge Trail Sign |
| Difficulty: |
Class III
, Class IV
, Class V
Continuous , Portage
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| Gradient: |
27 fpm |
| Run Length: |
8.7 miles |
| Good Level: |
500 - 3,000 cfs |
| Streamflow Comments: |
No gauge for this run exists. At the take out bridge, if the water is 5 feet below the top of the wooden cross beam then you can expect a low to medium flow, if the water is 3 feet below expect a high to medium flow. |
| Season Comments: |
January, February, March, April, October, November, December
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| Primary Season: |
Rainy, this section only runs after a few days of heavy rain |
| Permit: |
None presently required |
| Character/Similar To: |
Crystal clear water through a deep remote gorge. |
| Hazards: |
Multiple scouts and possible portages. Conehead rapid right below the class 5 rapid should be portaged. |
| Water Craft: |
kayak |
| Land Ownership: |
Canyon forest |
| Wilderness: |
Yes |
| Location: |
In the Pacific Region (OR), of |
| Shuttle Logistics: |
Take Out: From Brookings head east on Curry County 784. Once you cross the river you have entered Siskiyou National Forest and the road becomes NF 1376. Cross the South Fork Chetco River and go left on NF 1407, this is about 16 miles from Brookings; continue on this road for .6 miles. Turn left onto NF 170 and follow this road for .5 miles. You while see a sign for the Chetco Gorge Trail, this will be your take out.
Put In: From the take out get back to NF 1407 and head upstream. In .1 miles you will turn right onto NF 1917 and follow this road for 3.1 miles then turn left onto NF 060. In 2.8 miles stay right at the unmarked junction and go another 1.5 miles. Turn left onto Primitive Road 067 and go the final 1.5 miles to the put in. Bring a current map to help get to the put in. |
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| Chetco Gorge on the Chetco River |
This run starts off as class II/III for the first three miles. Take these first few miles as a good warm up for what is below. Even though the river starts slow, at some points the gradient easily reaches 90 fpm.
Mile 3: After the first 3 miles of warm up class III the river character changes and large boulders become visible above the surface of the water. This is the start of a very continuous class III+/IV section. You can scout or portage the rapids on river right. Below this the river calms down to class II/III again for a couple of miles.
Mile 6(Chetco Gorge): In this section are the hardest rapids on the run. There are three class V rapids in quick succession; all three can be portaged on river right. The third rapid called Conehead should be portaged; the semi runnable line is usually blocked by logs.
For the rest of the run you can expect a nice class II float to the take out. |
Last Edited by doldfield on 3/24/2010
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