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Rapid TX Class III

Low-Head Dam

Barton Creek - 2. Lost Creek to Loop 360 (Austin) (4.5 miles) (TX)

Gauge Conditions
Runnable: 300.0 – 3,500.0 CFS
Runnable: 300.0 – 3,500.0 CFS
Photo
Low-Head Dam
Photo courtesy of American Whitewater
Description

This drop used to be straightforward at all levels, but the Halloween 2013 flood apparently re-arranged it a bit, and at lower flows (500-1000 cfs, for instance), it now forms a couple of nasty-looking offset holes, left and right of center.  There is a one-boat-wide diagonal that threads the needle left to right between the holes, but that line also sets you up for another recirculation downstream.  The left hole in particular is in a tight notch created by broken pieces of the dam.  Don't go there.  The other holes might not hold a long boat, particularly if it has sufficient speed, but they definitely appear as if they might cause problems for a playboat.

At higher levels (2000 cfs, for instance), these features wash out, and the rapid is straightforward again, more of a II or II+.

Location
Type
Rapid
Difficulty
Class III
Mile Marker
1.2 mi
Directions
View Full Run
2. Lost Creek to Loop 360 (Austin) (4.5 miles)
Barton Creek
II-III+(IV) 4.6 mi
Current Conditions
5-Day Forecast
Whitewater data from
American Whitewater