Lowe River - Keystone Canyon Whitewater River e-Guidebook

For a paddler with an adequate roll and ready to move beyond flatwater, Keystone Canyon is a superb introduction to fast, pushy glacial water. Set deep down in the Chugach Mountains with numerous waterfalls such as Bridalveil and Horsetail Falls which pour down from nearly a thousand feet up sheer graywacke rock walls. Intermittent views of the lush green mountainsides can be seen as the river makes sharp turns. The wet maritime climate of the Valdez area coupled with the purely glacial origins of the Lowe make for dramatic and quick changes in water level, yet with a continuous rather than pool drop nature the run only becomes faster and more powerful at higher water, not necessarily bigger since no true rapids but rather scattered holes and boily eddy lines characterize the run. Play features abound and because of some of the sharp turns eddy service can be found for some of them. Certainly the most beautiful roadside beginner run in the state, Keystone Canyon is a great warmup for the tremendous whitewater opportunities that lie in wait throughout the rest of the Last Frontier.