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Worth the Wait

Rising water levels in Arizona's Oak Creek can deliver a big, wet perspective to a dry landscape.

By Tyler Williams

GETTING STARTED

PUT-IN Indian Gardens wayside on Highway 89A. This is 4.6 miles north of the Highway 179 Bridge in Sedona.

TAKE-OUT Highway 179 Bridge in Sedona. New bridge construction is changing conditions here in spring 2010. Alternate access can be found on river left at Chavez Crossing one mile downstream. *Besides the Indian Gardens run described above, other sections of stream exist farther upstream and downstream of Sedona.

DIFFICULTY The Indian Gardens run is Class IV. Beware of logs that shift with each high water event.

WATER LEVELS 200 cfs is a minimum. 400 cfs to 600 cfs is optimal. More than 800 cfs is high.

GAGE USGS Oak Creek at Sedona: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=09504420

RESOURCES Paddling Arizona — A Guide to Lakes, Rivers, and Creeks by Tyler Williams (funhogpress.com)

Oak Creek Canyon is renowned for its soaring red rocks and cool forest greenery. The canyon sees many thousands of tourists each year. Most of them barely get out of their cars to snap a photo, while some venture down to the babbling brook and wet their feet. Few ever think of floating the stream, but for a lucky minority, this is what Oak Creek, a tributary of the Verde River, is all about. Despite the ephemeral nature of the creek, paddlers seem to magically emerge when the creek turns to river, and it's no wonder. Experiencing the famous landscape by floating its winding depths is an experience worth the wait.
The creek drains forested tablelands atop the western Mogollon Rim, so despite its proximity to red rock country, the waters of Oak Creek run high-country clear. When runoff is underway, the stream is a turbid gray-brown, but rarely does it turn desert-dirt red. The juxtaposition of mountain water amidst red rock only adds to this river's unique appeal. Sometimes, the runoff tumbles white.
The lower reaches of the creek offer Class I, II, and III rapids. Tucked beneath arching sycamore trees, the stream weaves ribbon like across the grasslands of the Verde Valley. Farther upstream, Oak Creek runs over bedrock ledges as it wends past dramatic sandstone crags, and the city limits of Sedona. Above town, within the confines of the canyon, the riverbed changes yet again. This is where the real whitewater of Oak Creek is found, tumbling over boulder gardens that are surrounded by lush shade-loving greenery.
Farthest upstream is Oak Creek's principal headwater stream, Pumphouse Wash. This 4-mile run is a Class V full-on adventure through a committing canyon. Runnable water levels are capricious, and descents are few. When Pumphouse Wash emerges from its narrow gorge to flow beneath Highway 89A, the stream changes in name to Oak Creek. The riverbed is often littered with logs for the next few miles below here, making it less than favorable for paddling.
Better whitewater begins near the confluence of the West Fork of Oak Creek. Under the right conditions, this part of the creek can provide stellar Class IV - V whitewater, but logjams are shifty from year to year and water levels can quickly become too high in the narrow riverbed. For consistently good paddling, the best launch point is Indian Gardens, located about five miles upstream of Sedona. Munds Canyon joins the creek here, and Oak Creek's water volume instantly doubles.
The put-in is located across from Garland's Store, a quaint local hub in a long-favored canyon locale. Natives lived and cultivated here before European settlement, and the beautiful setting has remained occupied by a lucky few ever since. Launching whitewater kayaks is the latest human use at Indian Gardens, and it usually draws the interest of a few curious tourists.
The rapids start immediately. A narrow Class III channel with plentiful warm-up eddies leads to the first drop, located a couple hundred yards downstream. This short steep flume develops a sizeable hole at the top with higher flows, but it's normally a down-the-middle affair. A couple gravel bars lead to Trout Farm Bridge. At most flows, you can limbo under the left side. At higher water levels, the bridge becomes a nightmarish strainer requiring a quick portage on river left. The rapid below is one of the bonier drops on the creek - a bothersome boulder garden or a rewarding obstacle course depending on one's perspective, and the water level. A long pool often rife with ducks and herons leads to a sharp right turn against a cliff wall, forming a rapid called Compound Fracture. Despite the macabre title, this is one of the standout rapids on this run. Things get mellower for the next half-mile. Casner Canyon enters on the left, and the creek drops away from the highway.
The pace begins to pick up with more boulder and ledge rapids, some good, some bad. One gravel bar is called Pick Your Poison (among other inglorious terms), not exactly what you'd describe as "sweet." The mank doesn't last long, however. The Grasshopper Point access area is located here, and so is the single biggest drop on the run. Grasshopper Falls is a five-foot vertical drop with a busy run-out. Dramatic sandstone formations tower above the creek, and tiny tributary streams pour down slopes of mature ponderosa pines and Arizona cypress.
A long bedrock slide (Class III-IV depending on flow) known variously as Midgley Slide, Midgley Bridge Rapid, or simply "Midgley," provides perhaps the most fun one can legally have in Oak Creek Canyon. A glassy surf wave at the top attracts only the bold, because a mostly river-wide ledge hole lurks just below. This is followed by a raucous wave train, and at the bottom, a play hole. During the first warm days of spring, the shoreline here is decorated with barely clad beverage-sipping collegiates. Before you start trading freestyle moves for cold ones, keep in mind that the Sedona take-out is still a few rapids away.
Kayaking is hardly a regular activity on Oak Creek. Unless climate change plays some radically unexpected tricks on northern Arizona's weather, raft trips won't be sharing the canyon with pink jeeps anytime soon. If you are lucky enough to be in the canyon when the water is flowing, paddling the ephemeral creek can offer a perspective of a famous landscape that few ever get.

Tyler Williams is author of five books including Whitewater Classics and Paddling Arizona (funhogpress.com).