(June Creek Bridge to Collawash River)
The Clackamas River above the Collawash confluence contains nearly continuous, intermediate rapids, beautiful scenery, clear water and a pleasant riverside hot springs. This is a great run for boaters looking to make the transition from rivers to creeks. This run also has an extremely broad range of runnable flows. I've run it when the 3 Lynx gauge was as low as 1000 and as high as 10,000. At low flows the run is extremely technical but there are lots of lines to choose. At high water this run is essentially one long rapid.
River Description (Raft/Kayak/Canoe)
The rocky streambed and consistent gradient provide plenty of action for the first 5.5 miles. There are two small, narrow gorges in this first section that contain steeper drops. They should be scouted from the road during the shuttle to check for wood. The hot springs about 5.5 miles from the put-in make a nice spot to warm up hands and feet. About a 0.5 mile below the hot springs is a steep drop with a large rock in the middle of the river. The drop is preceded by 50 yards of waves and holes. Boaters generally run just to the right of the center rock; punching through a large wave and avoiding another rock on the right. At some levels there is a sneak route along the right bank. The left side looks attractive but is dangerously undercut. Two miles downstream is a long boulder garden (class 3+-4) that contains some nice waves and holes as boaters dodge large rocks. The entire boulder garden should be scouted from the road.
Hazards
This run collects a lot of wood in some years. Wood is constantly shifting position so it is important to scout all the more difficult rapids and the rest of the river from the road before starting the run. The significant rapids are 0.5 miles, 2.5, and 4.4 road miles upstream of the take-out. In addition, steel cables left in the river from past stream habitat work could be hazardous.
How to get there
Take-Out (GPS:45o01.901'N, 122o03.556'W)
Follow Oregon 224 southeastward from Estacada about 23 miles until you cross the Clackamas at Sandstone Bridge. Sandstone Bridge is the 4th bridge Hwy. 224 crossing the main Clackamas River. After crossing Sandstone Bridge, the road goes away from the river until you reach the junction with Hwy. 63; about 8 miles on the right. The take-out is near the junction of USFS 46 and USFS 63. There are several possible take-outs including a nice spot just upstream of the bridge at the junction on the left side of the river.
Put-In (GPS:45o01.009'N, 121o55.230'W)
USFS 46 follows the river for the entire run. June Creek Bridge is about 7 miles upstream of the FS 46/FS 63 junction.
Note: Because the road follows the river for the entire run, there are any number of alternate put-ins and take-outs.
Gauge
Clackamas River at Three Lynx
The flow on the June Creek section is roughly one-third the flow at the Three Lynx gauge.
More Info
Check out Jason's description of a high water trip on this run.
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