Falls & Gorge

Kootenai Falls and the gorge below are a spectacular big-water paddling run with many lines depending on flows including several waterfalls, a large surf wave, some big-water lines, and some impressive whirlpools. This is all set in a very scenic gorge made all the more impressive by the gleaming blue-green water. The river is nearly always runnable, but is renown for its ideal flows in late summer and fall. While the river upstream and downstream of the falls and gorge offers some scenic paddling, these sections are very different from the whitewater run in the middle.  The run is in a protected area with trails, so park and explore on foot before paddling. This run goes anywhere bellow about 24,000 cfs, above which it becomes just a bunch of large eddy lines and boils. The easiest level is between 8,000 and 10,000 for river running (class IV pool drop). Levels below 8,000 become slightly more technical but still are not that bad. With higher water than 10,000 the river becomes much more continuous. PLAY: - 4,000 - 6,000 cfs little super wave. this wave is in the same spot as super wave but much friendlier. a good spot for learning to surf. - 9000 - 11000 three holes down by the stair case/ playground rapid right before the swinging bridge. these three holes next are to each other. you can start in an the eddy then go to into the first hole, you can then work your way into the other two holes. - 12,000-18,000 super wave. the real super wave is optimal at 14,000. at higher flows it can be difficult to get out of. at really high flows it starts to flaten out. WATERFALLS: There are several different waterfall lines on the main falls. Going from river left to right you have: - MAIN FALLS, aprox 20 ft. This one runs at about 14,000 cfs and higher. it is probably easiest of the waterfall lines on the river. It only takes a little bit of time to walk back up so you can run it again. At high water this drop can become nasty. - TAHITI: Right next to the main falls is TAHITI, which is about 20ft and can be run when the main falls is low 12,000-14,000 cfs. - THE MIXING BOWL: This spot has three different lines that drop into one bowl which then feeds into a 5 foot ledge drop called doinker falls. Above 8,000 cfs you can run any of the three lines into the mixing bowl. At about 12,000 it gets a bit harder to manage and doinker becomes a pretty sticky hole.