- May 4-5 & September 21-22, 2024
- Class III-IV Rapids
- 12+
- Full Day
The Upper West River Run is a great way to go kayaking or canoeing on this quintessential Class III run in southern Vermont.
Kayak and canoe river runs on the West River in VT
Two instructional river runs options during the West River releases in Jamaica, VT! This is a true VT gem and if you haven’t had the chance to paddle it here is your opportunity! If you have paddled it, you know how special this river is and you should come back and join us for another epic run! Our instructional river runs give paddlers the opportunity to further develop the skills you have been working on. We keep an open format and allow the participants to dictate how much or how little feedback you would prefer from our excellent instructors. Here’s some more information on these two great sections for advanced beginners or intermediate to advanced paddlers.
Dates
- May 2-3, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Meets at Jamaica Village school; West River, VT - September 19-20, 2020
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Meets at Jamaica Village school; West River, VT
Lower West River Run
This run is great for advanced beginner to intermediate paddlers looking to explore a mid-volume river that is continuous in nature. We often paddle this section twice with a break for lunch in between. This gives a great chance to learn the river and find spots that you’d like to work on skills during the second lap. Paddlers should be comfortable in class II whitewater and able to catch eddies, ferry, and peel out in class II. For kayakers being able to roll is helpful but not required. Quaint VT covered bridges and continuous wave trains and whitewater, what could be better!
Upper West River Run
Not for the faint of heart, this is a fantastic VT run! The run begins with a hike over the top of the stunning Ball Mountain Dam. Vermont beauty all the way down to some of best continuous whitewater in the country. The run starts with Initiation, a long class III rapid exhilarating big waves and a fun surf. Things stay busy around the first tight corner and really most of the way down the run! Paddlers should be experienced intermediate to an advanced level of skill. Paddlers need to be able to catch eddies and make ferries in powerful class III whitewater. A strong roll is required. After the top section we’ll break for lunch and see if folks would like to run it again or we can also continue downstream and continue through the lower section.