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Verde River Whitewater, Arizona

By Tyler Williams

Getting Started

Map: A detailed river guide for this section of the Verde is available from the Tonto National Forest: www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto/home.shtml — “Verde River Guide” link.

Directions: Beasley Flat put-in: take Salt Mine Road off Highway 260 in Camp Verde. Follow Salt Mine Road 8.8 miles (where it turns to dirt) and turn left. Travel 2.4 miles to Beasley Flat.
Gap Creek takeout: return to Salt Mine Road and go south at the Beasley Flat turn. Road #574 is rugged and sometimes impassably muddy to the small parking area on Gap Creek.
Childs takeout: from Campe Verde travel east on Highway 260 about 7 miles to Road #708. Follow the signs to Childs. After traveling about 15 miles, turn right onto Road #502; proceed several miles to Childs. The road switchbacks into the river canyon above Childs. When wet, the road can be a mess.

When To Go: February to April. Check flows for the Verde River below Camp Verde at: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/current/?type=flow. Optimal flows are 800 to 2,000 cfs.

Itching to get a jump on the river-running season? A trip off the edge of the Colorado Plateau might just be the answer. The Verde River drains the Ponderosa pine forests and redrock canyons of the western Mogollon Rim. Flowing through the temperate Verde Valley beneath the Rim, this diminutive stream normally maintains its namesake green color, meandering humbly below slopes of creosote bush and prickly pear cactus. During early spring, however, the Verde grows into a seething brown river, offering some of Arizona's best whitewater to be found in the month of March.

Most of the Verde's whitewater is located between the town of Camp Verde and the funky end-of-the-road destination known as Childs. The put-in for this Class-III section is at Beasley Flat, several miles downstream from Camp Verde. There are two take-outs, one at Gap Creek 8 miles below Beasley and another at Childs 16 miles downstream.

For the most whitewater with the least shuttle driving, the Gap Creek take-out is for you - but there is a catch. When you get there, you'll need to carry your boat a half-mile uphill on a narrow trail before reaching your shuttle rig and a cold beer. For rafts, canoes and boats that are not easily carried, the Childs take-out farther downstream is the best choice.

The Childs take-out allows riverside parking. There is also a nice hot spring a mile upstream and across the river from the parking area. The most memorable whitewater on the Verde, however, is located in the first few miles below Beasley Flat. A sweeping right turn signals the location of Off the Wall, the first significant rapid. This is a fast sluice against ledges with some powerful reactionary waves. More class II and III rapids lead to a gentle left bend where a basalt ledge spans the riverbed, creating Verde Falls.

This is the biggest rapid on the Verde, a class IV with a pre-falls and a fast walled-in run-out below the drop. At high water (more than 2,000 cfs) the falls are a big juicy flush. At low levels (less than 500 cfs), the only line is a bony double-drop on the right. During moderate flows, there is usually a clean boof line for hard boats over the ledge on the left.

Below the falls the water is swift for the next half mile or so with a couple distinct drops and good surf spots. Then the river mellows into long pools separated by occasional class II and III gravel bars. Palisades and Bull Run are the standout rapids, the latter containing a surf hole at the bottom.

The last big rapid before Gap Creek is Punk Rock. Plenty of paddlers have forcefully been taught the meaning of "ferry angle" at this rapid, and unwillingly "slam danced" with the large obtrusive boulder that gives the rapid its name.

Gap Creek is only about a mile farther. This take-out can be identified by a grove of cottonwood and sycamore trees high on the right hillside. The actual take-out beach is located a little upstream from this grove, where Gap Creek hits the river. If you run Bushmans, a ledge rapid with a great surf wave more than 1,500 cfs, you've gone too far. Playboaters take note: it is possible, but not easy, to hike back to Gap Creek from the Bushmans wave.

Once below Gap Creek, the hardest rapids of the run are behind you, but there are still several class II and III gravel bars. The ever-present tree obstructions of the Verde remain a factor as well. The scenery and camping are good. Look for a concrete structure on river right just above the Childs power plant. This is Verde Hot Springs, and during times of high water paddlers are likely to have it to themselves.

Tyler Williams is the author of Paddling Arizona: A Guide to Lakes, Rivers, and Creeks.