He was going both up and down the canal in different sections of the video.

That's an interesting question. Related to this is that electric-powered bicycles are allowed on off-road bike trails and are legally regarded as the same as human-powered ones. Check with the Eugene Dept. of Parks and Recreation for a definite answer on that. The traffic is never heavy on this canal, so your boat wouldn't likely be interfering with anyone.

Thanks!

This section never gets too low as it’s dam controlled, never seen it below the 700’s which has plenty of water for these rapids

@@jharm8711 Thanks. We're planning a July 4th trip, will be mostly kayaking Sections 1, 2, & 4.

@@jharm8711 Thanks; we did Sections 1,2, & 4 at the 750-800 cfs level and it was fine.

Above the reservoir maybe 8-10 miles above bedrock campground on left side of road. Needs heavy rainfall to be runnable!

If the Canada Geese shown were ducks, you would shout, "Go ducks!"

If I let such considerations hinder my comedic .... *oh crap they're geese*.

Kevin Hill one good thing that came out of COVID-19 for me is it got me to buy a bike rack attachment for my roof rack. Love having the flexibility of being able to bring the bike! And my Subie is going strong, 170K plus with only minor issues during its lifespan.

John Harmon, nice!! We just sold our ‘06 Legacy that looked very similar to yours. Great vehicles. And definitely good to have solid way to transport the bike. We did a lot of bike shuttling on recent paddling trip in Northern CA (Klamath and Smith). Good times on right road w good weather. Your route looked choice w that bike path!

David Dudley I’ve only done it at summer flows 1000-1500cfs. I’ve heard it described as “an adventurous run for the class 3-3+ boater” which I’d agree with. At summer flows most of the run from big cliff dam to the fish ladder dam above packsaddle is class 3. The Narrows however is solid 4+ (portagable with a seal launch at the bottom) and Niagara is a long class 3 with that pinch between the rock walls at the end (can be a psychological obstacle for some). Guidebooks say it’s a class 4 run overall when it’s around 2500cfs. At higher flows than that (in the fall they release around 6K for awhile) Niagara becomes a very dangerous area with powerful eddies and undercurrents, not advised for boating. It’s a good summertime run for Willamette Valley boaters who are looking for a few bigger rapids than the Clackamas, Packsaddle run or McKenzie provide.

@@jharm8711How big of a seal launch is needed at the Narrows portage? I’ve been eyeing this run for a low flow summer run in the 1,000-1,200 range but I’m confident I’d want to portage the Narrows.

Tony Gomes I believe it took roughly 2-3 hours at 950cfs on the gauge for this section... This is a rainy season run only though, too low right now. I’ve also done it at 400cfs and it was runnable but WAY longer of a day.

Ahhh thanks for the heads up. I was scouting up Mary's river for put in and take out spots today.

Too low meaning too low to kayak on? Or too low for any whitewater? I've not kayaked before but a coworker got me interested. Do you know if this section on the Mary's would be good for working on general kayak handling skills at this time of the year? Thanks!

Matt Kremer this is a rainy season run only. It’s currently 39cfs on 6/28/18, this video was at 950cfs. There may be a few flat areas deep enough to float a kayak in but you couldn’t paddle this section as a whole, it’s just a shallow creek in the summer. If you’re in Corvallis I’d suggest starting with kayaking on the Willamette, Peoria to Corvallis is a good start.

Mason Moorman thanks! I was bracing against rocks underwater, just hung out there hoping it would spit me out which luckily it did.

Kevin Hill so glad you enjoyed it! I had fun making this one. Let’s paddle sometime 😀

Check out the Eugene River Festival, Sep 9th - this is the race course!

Check out the Eugene River Festival, sep 9th - this is the race course!