Cadron Creek Paddle – March 9, 2024

Weather Saturday morning started out wet and rainy.  Fortunately, the rain stopped early.  We purposefully delayed the trip for 1 hour to let the sun come out and the temperature to warm up.   We were fortunate to have nice weather the rest of the day.  A little on the cool side, but no rain.

After unloading boats and shuttling vehicles to the takeout, eleven paddlers in eleven kayaks set off for a very exciting paddle.  We put in at the Highway 65 bridge and took out about ten miles downstream at the state Highway 285 bridge.  This section of the Cadron creek has high bluffs making for spectacular scenery and enough riffles and short drops to make the paddling interesting. 

The rating for this section is Class I and II+.  The water level on the Guy gauge was 4.13 ft.  At that level, the riffles and drops were pretty big.  There were some standing waves that got some of us pretty wet. There was barely enough room to scoot by the Rock of Gibraltar on the right side, but everyone made it just fine.  The Rock of Gibraltar is a huge rock that sits right in the middle of the creek and at some water levels, it poses a real hazard for paddles.  A few paddlers (no names mentioned) took unplanned swims during the first 5 or 6 miles. But everyone had a great time and are ready to do it again …. I think.  I know this paddler is.

The day ended back at the campground with everyone enjoying fellowship around the campfire.

A big thank you goes out to Allen Piercy and Michael Lisle for helping with the vehicle shuttle.

Paddle Stats:

Put In:   Highway 65 Bridge.  Nice access point with ample parking.

Take Out: State Highway 285 Bridge.  Nice parking area.

Trip Length: 10 miles

Water level at Guy gauge: 4.13 ft