Housatonic,

below Falls Village Hydro Plant (Rattlesnake)

Usual Difficulty	III-IV (may vary with level)
Length	0.5 Miles

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
HOUSATONIC RIVER AT FALLS VILLAGE, CT.
usgs-01199000	1200 - 10000 cfs	III-IV	02h12m	1620 cfs (rc= 0.0 )
usgs-01199000	Best boatable levels uncertain. Help us out with a comment or report.

River Description

From Kenny Unser:
The Rattlesnake is west of Rt. 7 in Falls Village, CT. It is south of Canaan and north of Cornwall. Follow signs to Falls Village. When you see a small cluster of stores, continue under the railroad bridge and around the hydro plant. The Rattlesnake section ends at the Steel Bridge that crosses the river above the hydro plant. The run can be accessed on the river right shore just north of the steel bridge and just below Great Falls.

The Housatonic Area Canoe and Kayak Squad (HACKS) has some good local knowledge of this section, as well as the Bull's Bridge and Swift's Bridge sections. There is an annual Class-A slalom event on the Rattlesnake that draws boaters from around the country.

Lat/longitude coords are approximate, from TopoZone.

Check out this article from the AW Journal archives. Also check out the Swift's Bridge and Bull's Bridge sections.

StreamTeam Status: Not Verified

Last Updated: 2004-02-17 21:09:41

Great Falls on Housatonic,CT

Detail Trip Report Edit Great Falls on Housatonic,CT Housatonic, CT(95.24KB .jpeg)

Rattlesnake

Detail Trip Report Edit Rattlesnake Housatonic, CT(3.81MB .avi)

Rattlesnake Slalom race

Detail Trip Report Edit Rattlesnake Slalom race Housatonic, CT(2.27MB .mpg)

Rattlesnake Slalom race shot 2

Detail Trip Report Edit Rattlesnake Slalom race shot 2 Housatonic, CT(1.86MB .mpg)

Rattlesnake Slalom race

Detail Trip Report Edit Rattlesnake Slalom race Housatonic, CT(3.08MB .mpg)

The Rattlesnake Drop

Detail Trip Report Edit The Rattlesnake Drop Housatonic, CT(2.79MB .mpg)

Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

New gage!
Sez Kenny Unser: The Falls Village Hydro Plant releases water into the HACKS practice course (top of Swifts) but it bypasses the Rattlesnake section. That accounts for the difference between gauging the Swift's section and the Rattlesnake.
Enough water is needed to spill over the dam above Great Falls. The Rattlesnake might be running when the Bull's Bridge section is above 4 feet on the boater's gauge (that is a guess based on my limited experience). It runs time-to-time during dam maintenance and a release is scheduled during the annual slalom races in the spring. It's tough to gauge. Calling the River House is the best way to go (860-824-5899).

Gauge Information

Name

Range

Difficulty

Updated

Level

HOUSATONIC RIVER AT FALLS VILLAGE, CT.

usgs-01199000

1200 - 10000 cfs

III-IV

02h12m

1620 cfs (rc= 0.0 )

Best boatable levels uncertain. Help us out with a comment or report.

Range	Water Level	Difficulty	Comment
1200 -10000 cfs	barely runnable-high runnable	III-IV	Best boatable levels uncertain. Help us out with a comment or report.

Report - Reports of Housatonic below Falls Village Hydro Plant and related gauges

Reports give the public a chance to report on river conditions throughout the country as well as log the history of a river.

Reports

When	River/Gauge	Subject	Level	Reporter
	Housatonic [CT]	Rattlesnake Slalom race	n/a	Paul Corey
6y22d04h40m	Housatonic [CT]	The Rattlesnake Drop	6.5ft	Paul Corey
6y22d04h40m	Housatonic [CT]	Rattlesnake	6.5ft	Paul Corey
> 10 years	Housatonic [CT]	Great Falls on Housatonic,CT	n/a	John Gangemi