Belt Creek is absolutely beautiful, a mini-
Smith River with beautiful limestone walls that tower over the run, and eventually lead to a couple-mile long vertical walled box canyon a couple miles above the takeout. The run most often starts in Monarch, where the river is small and flows over braided cobble bars that can hold log jams and brush. Be careful of wood in this section. The scenery gradually ramps up as thw limestone walls grow in stature and the river gains more organized Class II and -III rapids. You should watch out for a few class 3's above the canyon (which starts about the last 3rd of the float), especially at the entrance but pretty much stay center. The canyon is awesome, swift pushy water could lead to a bunch of wall collisions, but not a serious danger at lower water when the walls feel a bit undercut but are relatively easy to avoid. Paddlers caution about higher flows because of the funky hydraulics and chances of a log jam, though experienced paddlers run it high. Belt Creek takes around 4-8 hrs, depending on flow and stops.
The
Neihart section is just upstream and has been run at high flows in IK's when 'it's definitely a ride.'
Belt Creek flows through
Sluice Boxes State Park as well as a mix of private property. Please be respectful of private property, and follow State Park rules. Belt Creek has little to no paddling infrastructure (bathrooms, formal launches, etc), so please make every effort to leave no trace in this special river canyon.
(Based on an initial Dustin Prinzing report from 2008-05-27)