Region: River: NTS Sheet: UTM Type: Zone:
West Coast Main River (Canyon) 12 H\15 NAD27 21
River Description:
A rollicking rollercoaster of constant gradient, wave train fun.

Difficulty Rating: Hardest Rapid: Flow Information:

III
III+ Most won't enjoy the paddle below 60 or so (I think…).

Good levels are from late-May to mid-June.

http://www.gov.nf.ca/wrmd/ADRS/gif/4816B4A8.GIF
River Levels:

Low 0 to 60

Medium 60 to 100

High 100 to 270
How to get there: Gradient

Put-in Northing Easting: Section: Avg

Distance 23.
km

The shuttle road starts in the community of Sops Arm, Gradient 8 m/k

north of Deer Lake on RD#420. The shuttle road itself

starts on the left side of the road 1 km past the bridge 44 fpm

over the main river. This road starts by following the river

valley. Locals can probably be hired for shuttles and are

knowledgable of the roads. You can drive in most of the

river - most people opt for this and drive in an old logging

road (4x4 recommended) until you reach the bridge. (I'll

get better descriptions of the put-in access in the next

Take-out Northing Easting:

Take-out where the river crosses under the main road

bridge and enters the ocean. There is a nice campground

in Sops Arm and a hotel in the area for accomodation.
Detailed Description of the River
First Descent: (19??) ????

Description of lower portion provided by Steve Arns (2003).

The Main River is a great Class III constant gradient river that runs through a deep, heavily
forested valley. It's all read and run, lots of big eddies and nothing bad that you can't see a
mile away. There are some awesome surfing opportunites, mostly on-the-fly stuff. The more
water you can get on the river, the better it is (everything gets bigger!). It's been run up as
high as ~270cms, but is good down to 50-100cms. Most won't enjoy the paddle below 60 or so
(I think...), although it's been run with almost no water. Keep in mind that swims can be long,
and there has been more than one boat that wasn't retrieved until the ocean.

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