Kayaking Stanislaus River

A good stretch of river for some easy kayaking is the section from Knights Ferry to Orange Blossom on Stanislaus River. It is all class 1 with a short class 2 section in the beginning call Russian Rapid.  Many web sites have written about this part of the river so I won't repeat them. I do want to point out that the Stanislaus River water flow varies depending on the time of year, usually with higher flows in the spring and lower in the late summer. The river is controlled by a dam higher up so there is water till late in the season (fall).

Excellent description of the river. Make sure to scroll down to see the pictures:

http://cacreeks.com/stan-oak.htm

Good description and advice on maximum flow rate for kayaks/canoes:

Paddling Tips: There is only one short rapid (Russian rapid) just below Knights Ferry. Inadvisable in an open boat above 500 cfs, all canoes get swamped above 800cfs. This is a blind rapid with a well-marked short portage trail river left. The trail can be paddled at 1100cfs. 

http://www.paddletrips.net/stringofpearls.htm

This is the only picture of Russian Rapid I could find:

www.rivertrip.com/trips.cfm?cat_main_id=1&cat_sub_id=5&classID=4

This California Water Department site has river flow info for Stanislaus River, measured at the release point at Goodwin Dam. Use the Spill cfs for reference:



http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryDaily?s=gdw&d=today

Here is a discussion about high flow leveals in this section of the river:

http://www.dreamflows.com/forums/viewTopic.php?topic=712


Happy paddling

Kevin T
Inflatable Kayak Report