Hazard Warning: Hazard information may be user-submitted and unverified. Conditions change frequently. Always scout rapids and obstacles yourself.
Rapid CA

Oakdale Road Bridge

Merced - 8) Snelling diversion to San Joaquin confluence (CA)

Monitor this Rapid
Gauge Conditions
Merced River below Merced Falls DAM near Snell CA Upstream Primary
Runnable: ? – ? CFS

Approximate - nearest available gauge. Use as general reference only.

Data from American Whitewater & USGS
CDEC Flow Data California
MERCED RIVER POH Primary
Elevation: 3,862 ft
MERCED RIVER HIB Primary
Elevation: 4,016 ft
MERCED RIVER MLK Primary
Elevation: 7,300 ft
Data from California Data Exchange Center (CDEC)
Photo
Oakdale Road Bridge
Photo courtesy of American Whitewater
Description

There is public parking on the northwest side of the Oakdale road bridge.  From the parking area you can walk out onto the historic Shaffer Bridge.  It is a nice stroll and gives a good view of the river downstream.  The up river view is blocked by the newer bridge.   Public access to the river is prohibited by penal code 602.  Chain link fences completely block access, except where there is a big hole in the fence with a trail leading down to the river.   We were not hassled when we left a car here in February and used this area as a take out.  Might be very different in the summer.

Some water agreements require the Merced Irrigation District to provide certain minimum flows to this point in the river depending on the time of year.   A gauging station is mounted on the downstream side of the Shaffer bridge towards the middle.

There probably are not any or many riffles below this point.

Location
Type
Rapid
Difficulty
Class N/A
Mile Marker
18.5 mi
Directions
Navigate
View Full Run
8) Snelling diversion to San Joaquin confluence
Merced
I(II) 51.7 mi
Current Conditions
5-Day Forecast
Whitewater data from
American Whitewater