Click here for a complete VIDEO GUIDE for this run with all the beta you need.
This run is not a joke. If you don't have a local take you down then scout very througly before you put on. Missing a number of eddies will mean certain death or injury. Be sure to have scouted the takeout eddy behind the Post Office parking lot and the bridges which are listed in bold. If you know where you are going this is an amazing run with a few portages.
Start below the dam in Hagaman. There will be boogie water to warm you up. Soon you'll be in a small scenic reservoir. Be quiet and you will likely see beaver, deer, and many types of waterfowl. At the end of the reservoir is a 10 ft dam to boof. It is very hard to scout, so we usually boof it and hope for the best.
Things will start to pick up a little more and you'll pass under your first bridge (
Crescent Ave). Count the number of blocks showing so you have a reference for the level. (It has been a while but I think 5 showing was a good level. Please post a comment with your findings.)
After the next bridge you will come to an abandoned dam. Portage the dam on the right and run the slide on the other side.
The second bridge is Clizbe Ave. Without much warning the creek becomes very tight and fast. You will dodge and duck branches before flying off a little dam drop and passing under
Forest Ave. You must scout this area ahead of time. After the bridge is a funky little drop. You will need to eddy on the right after the drop almost immediately. Ferry to the eddy downstream on the left and portage the dam below. The halfmoon lowhead dam is certain death.
100 feet down is the next drop. You'll probably walk it as well. A nasty jumble of rock and debris.
Hop back in and get ready for things to pick up. In a moment you'll pass under an old factory. Be on the lookout for any fallen debris.
You'll pass under 2nd Ave before seeing another dam. Be ready to hop out and scout the big slide on the right side where there is a trail. To run the drop ferry to the left and put in below the dam. Getting out of the eddy is a challenge, getting to the center is even harder, but the drop is a lot of fun!
The next bridge is
4th Ave. Get out immediately after on the left and portage. You'll see the 80 footer that lands on rock when you get back to the creek.
Once again things take a step up. From here on out is Class 5 urban kayaking at it's finest. You'll boogy below factories before boofing a few big holes. When the river widens out a bit get into the center flow and stay there. There is rebar in some of the shallow areas that can slice right through a boat. After a crazy left turn with a moster rooster tail you will see two overpasses. Stay center and get ready to boof the next horizon line. This is a stacked double drop. You'll have just enough time to get another stroke before launching again. There will be a long slide winding under another two bridges.
Find the takeout eddy on the left. It is identified by a tree that curves away from the wall that you can climb up to get to the river walk in the Post Office parking lot. Only 2 people will fit in at a time so split your group up as needed.
If you choose to continue you can run underground for 250 feet before going over a final drop and landing in the Mohawk. The only light you will have is what comes down from storm drains, and there is a nice hole halfway through at high water.
Watch this video taken at low water of the last section in downtown Amsterdam so you know what the takeout looks like. Any lower than this and it isn't really runnable.
Mohawk Valley Area Reaches
Canajoharie Creek Caroga Creek Cincinnati Creek
East Canada Creek Fish Creek, E. Branch Ninemile Creek
North Chuctanunda Creek Nowadaga Creek Mohawk (1.)
Oriskany Creek (Clinton) Oriskany Creek (Oriskany Falls) Schoharie Creek
Sprite Creek (Upper) Sprite Creek (Lower) Spruce Creek
Timmerman Creek West Canada Creek
Capital Region Area Reaches
Basic Creek Batten Kill Claverack Creek
Cobleskill Creek Fox Creek Hannacrois Creek
Hoosic Hudson (Lock 2) Kinderhook Creek (1.)
Kinderhook Creek (2.) Kinderhook Creek (3.) Kline Kill
Normans Kill (1.) Normans Kill (2.) North Chuctanunda Creek
Mohawk (Upper Cohoes Wave) Mohawk (Cohoes Wave) Poesten Kill (0.)
Poesten Kill (1.) Poesten Kill (2.) Quacken Kill
Schoharie Creek Stony Kill Wyant's Kill
Google Map of New York Whitewater
New York Whitewater Paddlers Facebook Group