Clove Brook - Colesville to Rte. 651


Clove Brook, New Jersey, US

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Colesville to Rte. 651

Usual Difficulty IV-V (for normal flows)
Length 1.5 Miles
Avg. Gradient 160 fpm

Clove Brook


Clove Brook
Photo of Stephen Strange by Mary Beth Brennan (now Mrs. Strange) taken June 97 @ even with footing



River Description

 

     One of the steeper runs in NJ, Clove Br. is a tributary of Papakating Cr. It drops around 240' in about 1.5 miles, with 60' of it occurring right after the creek goes under Rt. 23 for the first time.

    As far as I know, the first descents were by Adam Hubbard in the late 80's or early 90's and I seem to remember him telling me that he did it in a 15' Grumman canoe. I would rate it a IV+ to V depending on water level.

      This run is nearly all ledges, ranging from a few inches up to about 20'. Many of these create some very symmetrical river-wide holes at certain levels. The highlight of the run is the big slide (about 20') into a giant punchbowl, followed by a 6-8' drop (just downstream of Rt. 23). With extra water, it has very few eddies in some sections, it's very fast with lots of ledges and it tends to pick up wood. A few years ago (1998) it was clear because some local boaters worked hard to keep it that way during the summer. I haven't been back there since 2000, so stay alert.

Middle Atlantic River Forcast Center's Quantitative Precipitation Forcast. (The next 24hrs)
Middle Atlantic River Forcast Center's Quantitative Precipitation Forcast.(The following 24 hrs)

StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2009-04-03 21:40:33

Editors



credit

Detail Trip Report  credit  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(25.73KB .jpeg)

got wood???

Detail Trip Report  got wood???  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.20MB .jpeg)

clove brook boof, behind the old resturant

Detail Trip Report  clove brook boof, behind the old resturant  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.10MB .jpeg)

rapid directily above gauge

Detail Trip Report  rapid directily above gauge  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.12MB .jpeg)

lead in rapid to the big slide

Detail Trip Report  lead in rapid to the big slide  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.21MB .jpeg)

above the big slide

Detail Trip Report  above the big slide  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.10MB .jpeg)

bridge rapid

Detail Trip Report  bridge rapid  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.40MB .jpeg)

view from top of big slide

Detail Trip Report  view from top of big slide  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.19MB .jpeg)

view of the big slide from scouting trail

Detail Trip Report  view of the big slide from scouting trail  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.19MB .jpeg)

Clove Brook Guide Map

Detail Trip Report  Clove Brook Guide Map  Clove Brook, NJ(31.66KB .gif)

Dropping out of the bowl

Detail Trip Report  Dropping out of the bowl  Clove Brook, NJ(54.48KB .jpeg)

Level was a little over the footing

Detail Trip Report  Level was a little over the footing  Clove Brook, NJ(54.79KB .jpeg)

Clove Br Ledges

Detail Trip Report  Clove Br Ledges  Clove Brook, NJ(15.54KB .jpeg)

Clove Brook

Detail Trip Report  Clove Brook  Clove Brook, NJ(27.65KB .jpeg)

Steep Creekin' in NJ

Detail Trip Report  Steep Creekin' in NJ  Clove Brook, NJ(217.29KB .jpeg)

Clove Br. Bridge gauge

Detail Trip Report  Clove Br. Bridge gauge  Clove Brook, NJ(13.22KB .jpeg)

Ledgeafterledgeafterledge...

Detail Trip Report  Ledgeafterledgeafterledge...  Clove Brook, NJ(113.52KB .jpeg)

Scouting Trip

Detail Trip Report  Scouting Trip  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.98MB .jpeg)

Clove Brook Slide

Detail Trip Report  Clove Brook Slide  @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651, NJ(1.91MB .jpeg)


Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

     Clove Brook is a trib of Papakating Creek. Despite the fact that I always think of the duck pond in front of the High Point State Park Ranger Station as its source, Clove Brook gathers most of its water from a swampy area on the Kittatinny ridge just south of the NY border. Because of this it actually runs more than you would think, sometimes staying up for a week after a good rain in the early spring.

 

      I haven't found a reliable online gauge for this run. To check onsite whether there is enough water, check the upstream, river-right, bridge pier on the bridge next to Dewitt Rd (see map below). If the water is within 3" of the top of the concrete footing of the bridge pier then it's runnable. To determine whether it's worth driving up to check it, check for excess water in the surrounding drainages (which have online gauges). Some of these include the Flatbrook at Flatbrookville, Papakating at Pelletown,Neversink at Bridgeville, and Bushkill at Shoemakers.

Report - Reports of Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651 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
Clove Brook [NJ] Ledgeafterledgeafterledge... even with footing Stephen Strange
Clove Brook [NJ] Clove Br Ledges even with footing Stephen Strange
Clove Brook [NJ] Clove Brook Guide Map n/a Stephen Strange
1y135d19h18m @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651 [NJ] credit 0 cfs Ryan Groth
2y97d11h42m @Clove Brook Colesville to Rte. 651 [NJ] Account of 11/07/09 n/a n/a
2y316d14h28m Clove BrookColesville to Rte. 651 [NJ] Clove Brook Slide ??? Mike Stawicki
6y279d22h28m Clove Brook [NJ] Clove Br. Bridge gauge Hikin' low Stephen Strange

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News





User Comments


2012-01-03 04:29:13 (40 days ago)
No more wood in upper section there is however, a tree about 5 ft off the water surface that you
can get under. Then just downstream of that there is another tree blocking the whole river, sits
about 5 inches above the river surface at 6in below the footing water level. There is also one more
just before the last big drop right after the Rt. 23 bridge; can be avoided if you run river center
then cut over to river right to complete the drop. I plan on getting up there in the spring to cut
it all out. Even with this wood the river can still be run with little to no problems. This video
of me on 12/28/11 Shows all Major drops; Water level 6 inches below footing on first bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9cjRCUTL2U Edit
Users can submit comments.

Rapid Descriptions

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 Colesville to Rte. 651, Clove Brook New Jersey, US (mobile)