Furnace Brook, Vermont, US

Along Furnace Brook Rd. in Pittsford

Caffee Falls

Caffee Falls
Photo of Chris Skalka by Simon Wiles

River Description

Furnace Brook is a little paddled gem. It needs a lot of water, and there is no gauge, which make it a gamble, but its location between Middlebury and the Big Branch should ensure that it is paddled fairly frequently.
From the putin, about a mile of easy water leads you under the first road bridge. Downed trees are fairly common, but at the time of writing, all were obvious, and none blocked anything oher than flatwater.
The first major rapid is a biggie - Caffee falls. Inspect on the right. This is a beautiful large three stage fall. After this falls, the river is continuous class 4, with several class 5's thrown in. Long continous boulder rapids, and many great boofs make this a classic run.
There is one more rapid, just under the takeout bridge; run this, and walk back to the car on river right.

Putin: From the takeout, continue on Furnace Rd. You wil cross the river once, and just after this, there is a large pull-off on a corner. This is the most convenient putin, although there are others which minimize the easy water.
Takeout: From Pittsford, take Furnace Road North from Rte. 7. This turn is just before the Rte. 7 bridge if you are heading South. The road goes for a couple of kms before making a right turn. Follow for a couple of 100m until you cross the river. This is the takeout. There is room to park one vehicle at the bridge, and a couple of small pull-offs farther up the hill.

Other Nearby Runs:
The Big Branch and Clarendon Gorge are pretty close by.