# Please let me know if I'm missing any whitewater parks in US



## mountainbuns (Feb 19, 2004)

I'm finishing a paper on effects of whitewater parks on fish and I need to finalize this info. I've been looking all over for documentation of existing/planned/proposed whitewater parks, both in 'real' river channels and in artificial channels. 
I'd greatly appreciate your additions to this list and also corrections if any of my info is incorrect. United States only. Post here or email [email protected]
Thank you, Claire McGrath

PARKS IN NATURAL RIVER CHANNELS:
Existing:
1.	Animas River, Durango, CO
2.	Arkansas River, Salida, CO
3.	Arkansas River, Buena Vista, CO
4.	Boulder Creek, Boulder, CO
5.	Fall River, Estes Park, CO
6.	Clear Creek, Golden, CO
7.	Gore Creek, Vail, CO
8.	Saint Vrain River, Lyons, CO
9.	Blue River, Breckenridge, CO
10.	Yampa River, Steamboat Springs, CO
11.	Gunnison River, Gunnison, CO
12.	S. Platte River, Denver, CO
13.	S. Platte River, Englewood, CO
14.	Red Cedar River, Williamston, MI
15.	Truckee River, Reno, NV
16.	Animas River, Farmington, NM
17.	Ocoee River, TN
18.	Trinity River, Fort Worth, TX
19.	Weber River, Ogden, UT
20.	Wisconsin River, Wasau, WI
21.	Green River, Green River, WY
22.	N. Platte River, Casper, WY
Planned:
1.	Black River, Watertown, NY
2.	Raleigh, NC
3.	Bear River, Evanston, WY
Proposed:
1.	Colorado River, Glenwood Springs, CO
2.	Boise River, Boise, ID
3.	French Broad River, Asheville, NC
4.	Cross Creek, Fayetteville, NC
5.	Tuckasegee River, Bryson City, NC
6.	Stonycreek River, Johnstown, PA


ARTIFICIAL CHANNEL WHITEWATER COURSES:
Existing:
1.	East Race St. Joseph River, South Bend, IN
2.	Lock 32 Erie Canal, Pittsford, NY
Planned:
1.	Adventure Sports Center International, McHenry, MD
2.	National Whitewater Center, Charlotte, NC
Proposed:
1.	Arkansas Whitewater Park, _____, AR
2.	Susquehanna River, Havre de Grace, MD
3.	Mississippi River, Minneapolis, MN


Anyone know the status of these: 
Kern River, Kernville, CA - improvements to the slalom course in town, was this done? 
Clark's Fork River, Missoula, MT - anyone know the status? 
Pueblo, CO - downstream of lowhead dam downtown. STatus?


On Susquehanna Site as proposed or planned but I couldn’t find any current information:
Wisp, MD 
Cumberland, MD
Williamsport, PA
St. Louis, MO
Inglis, FL
Prairie Du Sac White Water Park, WI
Peoria, Illinois 
Cedar Rapids
Des Moines River, Des Moines, IA


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## Cutch (Nov 4, 2003)

Claire, I thought that Cody, WY had one, but I could be thinking of Casper.


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## Todd (Oct 15, 2003)

I am under the impression that the Gateway Park proposal on the Roaring Fork at Carbondale, CO was passed by voters. Doesn't that include whitewater features - anyone?


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## Dunbar (Mar 17, 2004)

*Missoula WW Park*

There is a planned whitewater located in downtown missoula, Montana. This park will be known as the Brennan Guth Memorial Park on the Clarks Fork River just downstream of the Higgins Street bridge. The site selected will clean existed rebar and concrete out of the riverbed, and transform the spot into a palypark with existing riverside trails. Final funds are being raised this summer, and the groundbreaking on the project is planned for low flows this coming early fall timeframe. for more information, contact Tarkio Kayak Adventures at www.teamtarkio.com


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## flipover (Oct 13, 2003)

*one more*

Working on one in Lawrence, Kansas on the Kansas river. :lol:


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## kglaeser (Feb 21, 2004)

*New England Parks*

Claire,
There are a few parks in the NE that come to my mind. You got the Black aleady but there are a few smaller ones that me be noteworthy. 

The Winnipesaukee river in Franklin NH. They are building a park at the takeout and maintaining a trail along the river. 

The Contoocook river in Henniker NH. They are removing a dam and building a park on a old mill site.

The MVP (mvpclub.org) or AW should give you some leads or shoot me an email and I can give you some contacts that could help.

Ken

PS You missed a fun but hypothermic time at the Golden rodeo last night


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## claire (Oct 13, 2003)

*Re: New England Parks*



kglaeser said:


> Claire,
> There are a few parks in the NE that come to my mind. You got the Black aleady but there are a few smaller ones that me be noteworthy.
> 
> Ken
> ...


Thanks Ken. I was just about to post on the northeast paddlers board to ask, so thanks for the NE info. My paddling days are limited right now with finishing up my degree, so I decided to forgo the sleet and hit a nicer day at the park. Glad you had fun!

thanks everyone else for the info, and keep it coming. I just talked with a kayaking professor of recreation (nice job eh?) at U. Kentucky and we may put a list of info on all wwparks up on the web.... i'll keep you posted.


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## Rollitup (Feb 26, 2004)

*Tulsa Wave Park*

Still planned for upgrades but there is a feature there all ready.

http://www.tulsawave.com/

not to toot my own horn but that's me in the home page photo. 

The arkansas project is in Malvern AKA Rockport
http://users.aristotle.net/~lajones/Rockport.html

There's one planned for Branson , MO but think it has kind of petered out
Scott
Springfield, MO


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## Meng (Oct 25, 2003)

Claire sounds like an interesting project. If you dont mind sharing your findings when the project is finished I'd be siked to check out your final documentation (or maybe/probably just the overview). Good luck and congrats on finishing your degree!


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## mescalimick (Oct 15, 2003)

When I left Michigan they had 4 or 5 weirs on the Chippewa River in Mt. Pleasant with kayaking in mind. Never saw it waith water though.

Mike


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## mountainbuns (Feb 19, 2004)

Meng said:


> Claire sounds like an interesting project. If you dont mind sharing your findings when the project is finished !



Sure Chris, I'll put you on my list to send a reprint to. 

Ken, after getting more info on those NH sites, they don't count. I should have been more clear... - I'm only looking for sites where there is instream modification of the river channel such as drop structures placed for recreation purposes... not just boat ramps, put/in takeout improvements. 

thx all.


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## mountainbuns (Feb 19, 2004)

mescalimick said:


> When I left Michigan they had 4 or 5 weirs on the Chippewa River in Mt. Pleasant with kayaking in mind. Never saw it waith water though.
> 
> Mike


thanks for this info. From the AW page it looks like the weirs were primarily placed to protect aquatic biota from ive sedimentation after removal of a small dam, but that boater input for weir placement and design was considered to make the weirs good for kayaking. That's really interesting - I'll include it in my list as a special case - not principally built as a whitewater park, but still relevant. Nice.


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## mountainbuns (Feb 19, 2004)

Todd said:


> I am under the impression that the Gateway Park proposal on the Roaring Fork at Carbondale, CO was passed by voters. Doesn't that include whitewater features - anyone?


funny I had forgotten this .... I originally got involved studying this subject when i did a fisheries study related to the Carbondale wwp. I'm not sure of the status, I'll ask Gary Lacy and co.


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## Montana Manker (Jun 22, 2004)

Does anyone know what the status of the playwave in Missoula is?


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## superpuma (Oct 24, 2003)

Pagosa Springs, Co. New this past week. 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)


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## m_shawn (Mar 13, 2005)

There is a new water park in Pueblo CO. that was actually designed as a fish ladder. This feature inludes 8 drops totalling 11 feet. It replaced a low-head dam that prevented fish from traveling upriver. This project is nearly complete as part of an 8 million dollar habitat restoration project. It was overseen through the Corps of Engineers Albequerque district.Gary Lacey was the designer of this part of the project.


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## Christy (Mar 16, 2005)

I'm pretty sure there is a park in the planning stages on the Spokane River in Spokane, WA. I should say that I'm pretty sure some people in Spokane are dreaming of a ww park; I don't really know if it's anywhere close to the planning stage--but I'm hoping!


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## twitch (Oct 16, 2003)

*Adventure Sports Center International*

Claire-
You've got Wisp, Maryland on your list of proposed sites that you couldn't find info on. Wisp is actually the ski resort located there near McHenry & Deep Creek Lake. The Adventure Sports Center International will be (to the best of my knowledge) either at the top of the ski hill or on the premesis close by. Either way, they're the same entity. Can't wait for it to be completed next year though. 

Mark


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## ZLSeth (Aug 17, 2004)

Proposed: Silverthorne, CO


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## lagoonia (Oct 21, 2004)

Flipover- Is that true? I am from Lawrence and always thought the Kaw would make a great place for a whitewater park right underneath the bridge near downtown. I saw it at over 100,000 cfs a few years ago and it looked insane coming over the dam. Twenty foot High terminal hydraulic. Are you even talking about the Kaw or would it be on the Wakarusa? Let me know if there is anyway I could help.


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## jonny water (Oct 28, 2003)

The Ocoee in Ducktown, TN has got to qualify as a playpark....they re-worked the entire river for all paddlers and introduced some sweet play-spots.


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## RiverRestoration.org (Apr 27, 2004)

The park in Pueblo was funded as a fish ladder from the Corps of Engineers Section 206, aquatic ecosystem restoration. Fish would get caught in pools below the dam and then bake when the sun cooked the levee. There was also a question if the Arkansas River Darter would be able to access historic range in Wildhorse Creek? with the passage. 

The Park over Price-Stubb Dam (Palisade) on the Colorado is also a fish passage funded by the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program. A Dam upstream (Highline) and downtream (GVIC) have already completed fish passage so the Price Stubb will open fish passage all the way to Gleenwood Canyon? 

Vail is planning on improving their park, just upstream of a Gold Medal Fishery (Gore Creek) and Avon is looking into potential on the Eagle River. Frisco wants one on the Ten Mile Creek where big fish move up from Lake Dillon. 

Please put me on your list for a copy of the report. [email protected]


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## shawnm (Apr 20, 2007)

*Spokane, Washington*

will construct a park on the Spokane River in 2008.


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## jennifer (Oct 14, 2003)

There's rio vista dam on the San Marcos river in San Marcos, TX. Boaters created what has turned out to be a pretty sweet little year-round play hole by altering a dam structure. 

In the winter, boaters build a slalom course on the Guadalupe river. Not really a play park since they mainly use natural features, and only "build" a few temporary eddies. Still, it is a very nice course.

Longhorn dam in Austin is an awsome wave/hole, but was not created for boaters. Just acidentally turned out to be a sweet spot at certain water levels. Nicer wave than anything I've seen in CO so far!


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## outdoorsoul (Jun 28, 2006)

*Missoula, Reno*

Brennan's Wave in Missoula--done. surfed it last year. pretty fun wave

Reno, NV has a solid park, too


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## bkp (Mar 19, 2006)

You can see photos and get info on the Pueblo Whitewater Park if you click here----> Pueblo Boating Beta

As someone who has spent a good deal of time in the park I can tell you that I often see fish jump and go both up AND down stream in the park.

-Bryan 
Pueblo Paddlers


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## Matt J (May 27, 2005)

The Tuckasegee and the Nantatahala both have improvised "hand-made" features on them.

Is it safe to say that your using a very liberal definition of "natural" stream bed?

Just asking because I had to chuckle when I read the Ocoee listed in that group.


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## jboats (Apr 5, 2006)

*Sacondaga River, NY* - I think Gary Lacy was a part of this one. The Park itself I heard was not that good (not enough money to do the job right I beleive), but they did do the work. There is an outfitter company (The SOC) that is right at the take out and can probably be called for more beta. I have yet to see it since I don't go back to NY much anymore, but the word was out last year (summer).
*Saranac River, NY* (Plattsburgh, NY) I know of a bunch of talk was goin on about one in Downtown Plattsburgh, on the river about a mile upstream from Lake Champlain, this was when I attend Plattsburgh State back in the 90's. Don't know if anything ever came about from it but the local business's loved the idea.


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## EagleCountyPaddler (Apr 1, 2006)

*Avon co*

Ribbon cutting ceremony was last night.


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## bshack93 (Feb 11, 2006)

Avon whitewater park


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## Kimy (Jul 1, 2005)

*Kern park status*

Kern park is just peachy for fish AND boaters, just ask em. 
Humm, are the buzzards snoozing through this one or did I work for the NPS too long. Of course Mountain Buns, your research will show that whitewater parks and fish are the greatest thing since take-outs and beer.!!! Ain't no negative impact here. God forbid that land managers would decide that ww parks are BAD for fish. That is ALL we need. 
Anyway, since the buzzards have all been friendly, here is the Kern park detail.
Kernville Park is an in-stream feature, plans are floating around to make it a better park 'n play feature, but it ain't happened yet. As far as I know it is still in the planning/grant writing stages.
For facts on the construction dates of the park check out KVRC.org, might be some stats there. Or PM me if you need the absolute beta.
KJ 
Actually if you want some anecdotes about fishing and park usage, contact me. The Kern is a stocked-fish paradise and the community is really dependent on the income from every type of recreation....and as far as I can tell, fishing and parkin' get along just fine. (Mostly). As far as the success of native fishies.... god knows.


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## Southerngal (May 1, 2007)

*Artificial Parks*

The McHenry, Maryland park opens this month and the Charlotte Park: US National Whitewater Center opened last summer.


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## craporadon (Feb 27, 2006)

Parks to be built this fall or winter:
Frisco, CO Tenmile Creek
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado River


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## keelhauler (Apr 22, 2005)

Planned:
1. Adventure Sports Center International, McHenry, MD
2. National Whitewater Center, Charlotte, NC

Both these are completed.
ASCI course near the Upper Yough opens on June 1st.


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## Mike Harvey (Oct 10, 2003)

jboats said:


> *Sacondaga River, NY* - I think Gary Lacy was a part of this one. The Park itself I heard was not that good (not enough money to do the job right I beleive), but they did do the work. There is an outfitter company (The SOC) that is right at the take out and can probably be called for more beta. I have yet to see it since I don't go back to NY much anymore, but the word was out last year (summer)..


false. We did a concept plan for this project. We have not been involved since. if there is something built there someone else designed it and built it.


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## RedK (May 15, 2007)

One had been proposed in Dayton Ohio (believe it or not). Proposal linked on kayakdayton.com.


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