A favorite of Humboldt and Trinity County locals, the Denny Run is a short but fun on the middle reaches of the New River, sandwiched between more difficult runs. Just getting to Denny seems like an adventure, although the 18 or so miles on the paved Denny Road is is decent condition; it's just slow going.
Most of the land in the town of Denny and immediate environs is provate and the place has a storied history of mountain justice that's enough to discourage most boaters from trying to find an alternate put-in. Although other put-ins do get used and the old Denny Dump ia acceptable, the US Forest Service's
Denny Campground is the safe bet for those not looking for a mountain trial with a jury of one. Actually, the folks in this remote community are friendly and generally welcome paddlers, so let's keep it that way.
The river is small and intimate. Rapids are mostly boulder drops with some bedrock ledges thrown in. The scenery is great with beautiful water color and mountain views. Even the rocks are pretty.
Be prepared for a brutally steep but short take-out trail...and be sure not to paddle past the take-out because you will find yourself in the class V New River Gorge with no simple way out. If you're unfamiliar with the run, it is worth scouting the take-out so you know what to look for from the river. There are no signs or man-made landmarks on the river to guide you.
Part of the challenge of paddling the New is getting an idea of whether its flow is in without driving htere to find out. There is no gage on the New and the next gage downstream on the Trinity doesn't always correlate well to New River flows. The best bet is to look at the flows for the Salmon River system. The South Fork Salmon is just over the mountain from the New and, like the New, is entirely free-flowing with no dams or diversions.
Dreamflows gives an estimate for the South Fork Salmon. Look for an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 cfs there for a medium flow on the Denny Run.
NOV 2022: Added the gage at Calexico that was being used for the Gorge section to this and the Upper New sections but input on the flow ranges (from CA Creeks, so they're ancient) should be added.