Dinkey Creek, California, US

2. Dinkey Creek Campgrounds to logging spur road (Cherry Bomb Falls Section)

Dome at Cherry Bomb

Dome at Cherry Bomb
Photo by Paul Martzen taken 07/03/10 @ 192 cfs

Gauge Information

River Description

Getting there: From Fresno, take highway 168 to Shaver Lake. When just entering the Shaver Lake community, turn right onto Dinkey Creek Road and drive about 8 miles to Dinkey Creek and the campgrounds. Ross Crossing road, which goes towards the take-out, is on the right about a mile before Dinkey Creek.

Put-in: Launch anywhere in the Dinkey Creek Campgrounds area.  Lots of people just launch at the highway bridge or at the Redwood Truss Bridge a short ways upstream.  There are two options to get the maximum distance.  google map
1) After the middle of May the campground opens to the public and you can drive the nice paved road to the end or to Honeymoon Pool just downstream. In 2002 the campground hosts charged us $3 to park at Honeymoon Pool.
2) If the campground is closed, you canfind roads heading upstream on the east side of the creek. There are several dirt roads on the left. One goes to Camp Fresno. Take the next one past . This road climbs a bit, but not a lot while traversing back into the canyon. You can not see the creek, so be prepared to scout a bit. This road fades out even with or even a bit past the end of the paved road on the other side (as I recall). It is a relatively easy hike through mostly open forest a hundred yards or so down to the creek.

Take-out: Backtrack to Ross Crossing Rd. Drive about 3.5 miles south on Ross Crossing Rd and look for a small dirt road dropping steeply towards the creek. Condition of this spur road can vary but has usually been okay for 2 wheel drive vehicles. The bushes on the side though may scratch the paint on your car. From a clearing near the end of the road find a trail leading slightly north, then down, then back south to the creek. The condition of the trail has deteriorated in recent years. SCOUT this TAKE-OUT!! Immediately after this take-out, the creek drops into a gorge with huge drops and steep walls.  google map

Alternate Take out: Four wheel drive vehicles can usually reach the creek at Sheriden Mine which is only a half mile or so above the standard take out. Look for this road about 1/4 mile past the Camp El-O-Win turn off.    This take out avoids the hike to the logging spur road, but it also misses the last half mile of really fun rapids.  

Overview: From the end of the campground road to Honeymoon Pool is an impressive narrow and difficult gorge. It is easily scouted. From Honeymoon to the main road is a variety of bedrock and rocky drops. Technical but generally not super steep or difficult. Below the highway bridge the creek is cobblestone for a short ways.

Then it drops into a beautiful bedrock gorge. Captain Nemo is the last big drop in this gorge.

Wonderful ledge drops follow till the creek flattens out past the Girl Scout, "Camp El-O-Win". Soon, ledges and slides lead into the second gorge.

Cherry Bomb Falls is where the right wall turns into a steep dome. You can scout and portage the falls, on the left. Scout everything as you get close, so as to not miss the small eddy and to correctly run the ledge holes immediately upstream.

Max Headroom is an interesting single drop shortly after Cherry Bomb. The creek opens up again but remains serious till the end. A ledge hole at the end of a long class 3 run has captured several boaters at a time on high water trips. LA Riot is a long bedrock chute that ends at Sheriden Mine. Moderate but interesting drops extend from Sheriden to the last take-out. Make sure you have marked the take-out!

From the take-out down to Muley Hole may be somewhat boatable by a strong enough team at just the right flow, but scout it carefully or better just hike it in late summer to see. It is a nice short canyoneering trip at low water. From Muley Hole down to Ross Crossing is also an excellent though more serious canyoneering trip at low water. There would be some beautiful boating in there, at least for the first 1/4 mile or so. From about Deer Creek confluence on down, the creek bed is filled with monster boulders undercut with large siphons and caves. They are fun to crawl and swim through at 5 or 6 cfs. Canyoneers will want to bring a short rope for lowering and such.

Dinkey has often been boated at very low flows, 200 cfs or less, because the bedrock drops are still excellent. At flows high enough to clean up the gravel bar rapids, 400- 600 cfs, the bedrock drops get much more serious and many should be scouted.

Cherry Bomb falls and the 3 ledges immediately upstream should always be scouted. They are especially dangerous at high flows. I had become complacent here, till I lead my friend Walt Shipley into the first ledge and it took his life. The hole at the first ledge can be a keeper that will not release boat or swimmer.

Services: Free, primitive camping is allowed almost anywhere in the vicinity. Developed camping is of course available at Dinkey Creek Campgrounds Dinkey Creek Inn offers cabins, showers, and a small store with a resteraunt. Across the creek Camp Fresno offers very rustic cabins at very reasonable prices, but you must typically reserve cabins far in advance.

Paul Martzen

Other Information Sources:
California Whitewater Bible: Best Water in the State of California, Holbeck & Stanley
Charles Foster

Stories and memories of Walt Shipley: