Timber Dam ("TD")

An old timber dam was used by the breweries to harvest ice from the river in the days before modern refrigeration. Remnants of it extend from river-left (and, to a much lesser extent, from river-right), blocking nearly three-fourths the width of the river at flows under 800 cfs. A small, smooth wave forms in the gap, generally being better the lower the flow goes (all the way down to minimal summer flows!). At those low flows, very well-defined eddy-lines are present in the deep pool below the flanks of the timber dam. This spot can offer great opportunities for bow stalls and stern squirts, as well as 'old-school' pirouettes.

Beginners may practice river-running skills such as peel-outs, eddy turns and ferrying. A great training exercise is doing 'figure eights': peeling out of one eddy, crossing the current, catching the other eddy, paddling up it a bit, then repeating the process coming back to complete the '8'. It's great beginners practice for working on boat-leans and carving turns. Since there is great depth here (at all flows), a relatively strong current, relatively strong eddylines, and a huge 'recovery area' downstream, this is a great low-consequence spot to practice 'combat rolls' (rolling your boat in something other than the dead-calm water of a pool or lake).

As levels exceed 600-800 cfs, water increasingly flows over the remnants of the dam (I.E., the entire width of the river), the eddy lines diminish, and there is minimal whitewater interest here as a result.

Note: this site may be done as a 'park-and-play'. Driving on Humboldt Boulevard until just a bit north of Locust Street, turning East on E.Chambers Street. Proceed to near the end of this dead-end for street parking, then carry down the pavement (to the left of the gate and fence around the pumping station), stepping over or going around a chain strung between posts (stopping vehicular traffic on this stub), and continuing to walk straight down the grassy area to the river.

Increasingly (since Spring of 2013) time has been unkind to us. High water and ice-outs continue to knock out old timbers from the dam. As a result, the dynamics and play potential of this spot have been reduced. Water is not funneled as narrowly as before, and the eddy lines are not as well-defined until flows drop under 300-400 cfs. (Still playable, just not as good as previously.)