Cherry, West Virginia, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | II-III (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 9 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 30 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 30 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAULEY RIVER NEAR CRAIGSVILLE, WV | ||||
| usgs-03189100 | 11.70 - 17.00 ft | II-III | 00h52m | 11.12 ft (rc= -0.7 ) |
The Cherry is an excellent novice/intermediate run with many places to practice basic paddling skills (eddy turns, peel outs, ferries, surfing, etc.). Routes 39 runs along the river for the first 3 miles from Richwood Inn to Fenwick. Then Routes 20/55 follow the river down to the confluence with the Gauley. This allows the paddler to choose to run 3, 6, or all 9 miles.
The gradient is fairly constant at about 30 feet/mile, making this almost continuous rock gardens. The rapid just upstream of the Fenwick Bridge signals the point where Laurel Creek adds its volume to what has been coming down the Cherry. Watch out for the hole in the center of this rapid, especially at high water. About two miles downriver from Fenwick the river curves to the right and a long rapid appears. The bottom of this rapid includes a slide into a wave train with a couple of good size waves. The river left eddy at the bottom of the slide provides an easy way to get onto the waves. The second wave has a little curler on the river right side that can flip the unwary paddler.
About 3/4 mile below the Holcomb bridge (where Route 20/55 crosses the Cherry) is series of rapids ending with the last major rapid before Rhododendron Park. At high water the unsuspecting paddler can encounter a couple of good sized holes at the bottom/center of this rapid.
The action continues below the park and all the way to the takeout. Hopefully you still have enough energy to enjoy these last 3 miles.
Putin: River right across from the Richwood Inn
Takeout: Curtin Bridge (Route 20) at the confluence of the Cherry and Gauley Rivers
Alternate putin/takeout points: Fenwick (3 miles) and Rhododendron Park on Rt. 20/55 (6 miles)
The Craigsville gauge conversion table for feet-to-cfs is approximately:
11 feet = 510 cfs
12 feet = 1460 cfs
13 feet = 3200 cfs
14 feet = 5550 cfs
15 feet = 8500 cfs
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAULEY RIVER NEAR CRAIGSVILLE, WV | ||||||||||||||||||||
| usgs-03189100 | 11.70 - 17.00 ft | II-III | 00h52m | 11.12 ft (rc= -0.7 ) | ||||||||||||||||
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 173d12h56m | /Cherry-Watergate Inn to Gauley River [WV] |
Tree (after)
|
n/a | Charles and Nancy Brabec |
| 173d12h59m | /Cherry-Watergate Inn to Gauley River [WV] |
Tree (before)
|
n/a | Charles and Nancy Brabec |
| 1y97d14h09m | /Cherry-Watergate Inn to Gauley River [WV] |
Riley's Hole
|
n/a | karl davis |
| 2y266d21h56m | Cherry River [WV] |
Account of 05/20/09
|
n/a | Philip Young |
| 7y250d14h22m | Cherry [WV] |
Ender at Riley's
|
14 feet | Robert Anderson |
| 8y145d14h22m | Cherry [WV] |
Surfin' the Cherry
|
~2.5 ft | Jared Ebelhar |
| 8y253d14h22m | Cherry River [WV] |
Riley's Hole
|
1.4 feet | Charles and Nancy Brabec |
| 8y257d14h22m | Cherry River [wv] |
Wave Wheel
|
1'8 | Brian Rahall |
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. reach
state
reachlink
Richwood Inn to Gauley River, Cherry West Virginia, US (mobile)
User Comments
and Gauley) were partially removed on August 21st. It is still a good idea to scout the area from
the pull-out along Route 20 when running your shuttle. See the photos section for before and after
photos (taken when the USGS gauge was about 50 cfs). We paddled this section on 9/7/11 and the
trees were easily avoidable. The level was 1 foot on the paddlers gauge at Fenwick.
section of almost continuous class II/II+ rapids. Great section of river for practicing river
running skills and there were numerous small waves and holes for surfing. Fun section for the
intermediate paddler, a challenging section novice. Edit