Sunday, December 02, 2007
Stony Creek Lower Runs
Whitewater River Guide & Maps - California.
Recent Flows on Stony Creek.
Stony Ck Rainbow Diversion dam (RBW station info) (flow data).
BLACK BUTTE Reservoir Inflow (BLB station info) (flow data).
River Difficulty vs. Flow Rate.
class . . . flow (cfs)II . . . . . ????
Description - Stony Creek Lower Runs.
There are 2 class II runs on the lower sections of Stony Creek (Tehama County & Glenn County, California, USA).Driving Directions, Distance, Estimated Time & Road Conditions.
Mapquest provides directions, distance & time from your house to the river.* From Davis, CA to Stonyford, CA - driving time 1 hour 33 minutes.
California Road Conditions (Delays or closures due to weather, construction, etc.)
* California Travel Information - highwayconditions.com.
* Road Conditions - California Dept Transportation.
Topographic River Map, Road Map & Local Business Search.
• The map below is interactive - click and drag on the map to adjust the location.• Point or DoubleClick on the red markers below to see their names.
• Use the tool on the left to zoom and pan.
• Click on the Map button for a road map, Topo button for topgraphic map.
• Click on Google logo for road map & local business search (gas, food, camping).
• Full screen topo map and coordinates of additional landmarks - see below.
• Topographic map user instructions.
Topographic River Map.
Full-Screen Topographic Map - Stony Creek Lower Runs.River Landmarks - Geographic Coordinates.
Copy/paste the coordinates below into the search box at Google Maps or into the Find box at Acme Mapper.
* N 39.3710 W 122.6050, Rainbow Diversion Dam upstream from Stonyford, gauge (A).
* N 39.38215 W 122.55146, Rd 306 Bridge put-in (B).
* N 39.43497 W 122.50297, Rd 303 Bridge, take-out (C).
* N 39.61144 W 122.52940 - Hwy 162 bridge put-in (D)
* N 39.67899 W 122.53017 - Hwy 306 bridge over Grindstone Ck put-in (E)
* N 39.73993 W 122.40555 - Inflow to Black Butte Reservoir take-out (F).
Local weather in Stonyford, California.
 | |
 | |
Online River Guides & River Flow Data for Paddle Boating.
• Stony Creek Directory.(Display options - alphabetical 100. See section 1.)
Printed Guidebooks - Stony Creek white water.
• Ann Dwyer's Easy Waters of California North, 2000. (pg. 178-179)• West Coast River Touring - Rogue River Canyon and South, 1974. (pg. 195)
• California River Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.
Whitewater River Trip Reports NEEDED !!
• I'm happy to post or link to well-written, whitewater boating trip reports from guest authors, especially if boating pictures are included. Please contact me to submit your trip report.River Recreation Links - Stony Creek.
• Stony Creek Recreation & Conservation Directory. Website resources for the Stony Creek watershed. (Display options - alphabetical 100. Section 1=whitewater, 2=rafting, 3=conservation, 4=fishing, 5=camping-hiking, 6=local-info)More about:
• Use of these white guides to water river kayaking and rafting - BRT Insights.
• Kayaking guide for Stony Creek & Grindstone Creek class IV runs.
• Rivers & creeks nearby: Thomes Creek, Cache Creek, Sacramento River Valley Region.
• Whitewater River Guides for California.
Tags: Stony Creek, kayaking, paddle boating, river map, river, California, whitewater.
Labels: guide
Comments:
<< Home
I scouted Stony Creek from Stony Gorge Res to Black Butte Res yesterday. I haven’t been back in 15 years and the shuttle has changed drastically. Ignore shuttle instructions on Ca Creeks. There are
closed roads, lots of wire, and lots of very clearly worded signs everywhere. I was able to find good legal put-in and take-out spots but there’s nothing between. The shuttle is now about three times longer, so don’t plan on doing two runs in one day unless you get a real early start.
The Shuttle:
To Take-Out:
From Orland - Hwy 32 - Left on CR206 (your marker is the first hill on the road, a small cemetery on the right) - Sign reads “Orland Buttes” and “Grizzly Flat” - follow signs to Grizzly Flat. 1.7 miles past the
little bridge (wired like WW I ) you’ll find a parking loop on the right with one large lone oak tree and a gap in the fence. This is Army Corps land. A good, flat trail leads about 200 yards to take out. Be sure to take some flagging to mark take-out, everything looks the same down there. Be sure to boat river left after you pass under the bridge or you will have an island between you and take-out.
An alternate take-out would be 1 more mile (or so) of creek and 4 miles of flatwater to Orland Buttes Campground. The CG is closed until April 1st. But you can take out at the nearby free access site. Don’t
attempt this unless the lake level is above 450’. It will be very slick and muddy until the lake reaches about 456’. The big flooded willow groves in the delta are very cool to paddle through and absolutely teeming with wildlife in winter and spring. I confess, sometimes I go up there just to paddle this out and back run.
To Put-In:
>From Take-Out - backtrack to Hwy 32. Turn left, go about 15 miles. Left on CR306 (sign for Elk Creek) go about 12 miles. There will be two bridges. Park at the first bridge (the old, closed one) and walk the boats down the bank about 50 yards. It’s easier to see the trail if you scout it from the new bridge. Sweet put-in with gravel beach and an eddy. At bigger flows there’s a cool (albeit not big) staircase run just upstream you can walk a few times if you want. If you get to the village of Elk Creek, you’ve gone 1 mile too far but have an opportunity to buy more beer.
We can thank Lost River Ranch for closing their portion of old CR200A for this convoluted shuttle. NOTE: The road from Grindstone Rancheria, around Julian Rocks to just above the Grizzly Flat Bridge is CLOSED!!!
ALSO, in this day and age, don’t even think about launching at Stony Gorge Dam.
Hazards:
The usual. Beware of channels that take you into willow bush hell. WEAR GLOVES. At 1400 CFS it looked a little washed out, might be more fun at lower flows. Watch for strainers. I did not see a lot of wood
hazards from the road. Like Cache Creek, there are beds of resistant rock that face upstream, so keep your eyes peeled and wear a helmet. Choosing the right braid can make life a whole lot easier, so pay attention and try to find the summer channel.
BEAVER DAM: What’s worse than a dam??? A dam with pongee stakes!!! About three miles into the run look for a piece of flatwater that bends hard right. Beaver dam across more than half the river. Approach
running river left and look for a tongue left of center. Scout from road. I’d hate to see what that’d do to an IK (or a person!!!). There’s a real good chance this isn’t the only one.
If anyone makes this run before I get a chance, I’d love to hear all about it. SYOTR Harry Dundore
Post a Comment
closed roads, lots of wire, and lots of very clearly worded signs everywhere. I was able to find good legal put-in and take-out spots but there’s nothing between. The shuttle is now about three times longer, so don’t plan on doing two runs in one day unless you get a real early start.
The Shuttle:
To Take-Out:
From Orland - Hwy 32 - Left on CR206 (your marker is the first hill on the road, a small cemetery on the right) - Sign reads “Orland Buttes” and “Grizzly Flat” - follow signs to Grizzly Flat. 1.7 miles past the
little bridge (wired like WW I ) you’ll find a parking loop on the right with one large lone oak tree and a gap in the fence. This is Army Corps land. A good, flat trail leads about 200 yards to take out. Be sure to take some flagging to mark take-out, everything looks the same down there. Be sure to boat river left after you pass under the bridge or you will have an island between you and take-out.
An alternate take-out would be 1 more mile (or so) of creek and 4 miles of flatwater to Orland Buttes Campground. The CG is closed until April 1st. But you can take out at the nearby free access site. Don’t
attempt this unless the lake level is above 450’. It will be very slick and muddy until the lake reaches about 456’. The big flooded willow groves in the delta are very cool to paddle through and absolutely teeming with wildlife in winter and spring. I confess, sometimes I go up there just to paddle this out and back run.
To Put-In:
>From Take-Out - backtrack to Hwy 32. Turn left, go about 15 miles. Left on CR306 (sign for Elk Creek) go about 12 miles. There will be two bridges. Park at the first bridge (the old, closed one) and walk the boats down the bank about 50 yards. It’s easier to see the trail if you scout it from the new bridge. Sweet put-in with gravel beach and an eddy. At bigger flows there’s a cool (albeit not big) staircase run just upstream you can walk a few times if you want. If you get to the village of Elk Creek, you’ve gone 1 mile too far but have an opportunity to buy more beer.
We can thank Lost River Ranch for closing their portion of old CR200A for this convoluted shuttle. NOTE: The road from Grindstone Rancheria, around Julian Rocks to just above the Grizzly Flat Bridge is CLOSED!!!
ALSO, in this day and age, don’t even think about launching at Stony Gorge Dam.
Hazards:
The usual. Beware of channels that take you into willow bush hell. WEAR GLOVES. At 1400 CFS it looked a little washed out, might be more fun at lower flows. Watch for strainers. I did not see a lot of wood
hazards from the road. Like Cache Creek, there are beds of resistant rock that face upstream, so keep your eyes peeled and wear a helmet. Choosing the right braid can make life a whole lot easier, so pay attention and try to find the summer channel.
BEAVER DAM: What’s worse than a dam??? A dam with pongee stakes!!! About three miles into the run look for a piece of flatwater that bends hard right. Beaver dam across more than half the river. Approach
running river left and look for a tongue left of center. Scout from road. I’d hate to see what that’d do to an IK (or a person!!!). There’s a real good chance this isn’t the only one.
If anyone makes this run before I get a chance, I’d love to hear all about it. SYOTR Harry Dundore
# posted by 
: 10:27 AM
: 10:27 AM << Home
