Elk River, West Virginia, US

4. Webster Springs to CR7 bridge and gauging station (Down Elk)

Usual Difficulty	II-III (for normal flows)
Length	17.3 Miles
Avg. Gradient	25 fpm
Max Gradient	25 fpm

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
ELK RIVER BELOW WEBSTER SPRINGS, WV
usgs-03194700	4.50 - 8.00 ft	II-III	01h37m	4.92 ft (rc= 0.1 )

River Description

CFS at recommended paddling levels: 4.5' = 400cfs, 8.0 = 5,000 cfs from USGS rating table #26.
4.5 - 5.0' low water, plenty of rock dodging and occasional scraping
5.1 - 6.5' moderate water, nice intermediate run.
6.6 - 8.0' high water, big fluffy waves/hydralics, big river class 3- to 3+
10.0+ Flood stage
At low water conditions most boaters will want to do a shorter trip by using as a take-out/ put-in the Sandy Beach about 9 road miles down Elk on CR 7. At levels below 4.8 and approaching the minimum of 4.5' boaters commonly only do the second part of the run called "Way Down Elk".
The take-out is also know by the locals by various names such as: Clifton Ford bridge, Hans McCourt bridge, Bridge to Nowhere, Million Dollar Bridge. At levels below 4.8 most boaters take out at the "Pines" (definitely Hemlocks) about 1 1/2 mile short of the bridge.