Sacramento River below Dunsmuir

The Sacramento river below Dunsmuir has some great scenery and whitewater that boaters can enjoy every year as a weekend trip, or combine with nearby rivers for a longer vacation. Sims Flat campground makes a good base of operations, being in-between two recommended runs and shortly below the class IV-V rapid at Mears Creek. Dunsmuir offers an assortment of good restaurants, stores, fishing shops, and an excellent brew-pub opened in 2009, the Dunsmuir Brewery Works.

The lower recommended run from Sims Flat to Pollard Flat is commercially rafted, and very popular among the big-boat crowd. With many sidestreams contributing water, it has a longer season than the upper run. Floats of this stretch as low as 400 cfs have been reported. The whitewater feels a lot like the Tuolumne, but without the class IV punch. A railroad and an interstate highway follow the river, however the highway is seldom visible and rarely audible.

The upper recommended run is infrequently boated, perhaps because the Cassady/Calhoun guidebook falsely dismisses it as “less scenic [past Dunsmuir as] water quality declines.” In fact the stretch past Dunsmuir is more scenic than downstream, if you have time to look up from the continuous whitewater at intimate views of Mount Shasta and Castle Crags. The Dunsmuir Chamber of Commerce claims they have “the best water on earth” so water quality can't be too bad. Of the two runs, my buddies and I strongly prefer the upper run.

The mile-by-mile starts in Dunsmuir and resets at Sims Flat (with continuing mileage in parentheses).

-1.6

To make a longer day, you can put in at the end of Prospect Avenue and Pinewood Road, the furthest upstream river access in Dunsmuir. Expect frequent class III rapids with a boulder-strewn class III+ at the .5 mile mark just before Cave Avenue bridge. Class IV boaters can start upstream at Cantara Loop or below Box Canyon Dam for a busy day on the classic Mossbrae Falls run.

0

Put in at Tauhindauli Park on river left, just upstream of the Dunsmuir Avenue and I-5 highway bridges. The park was named after Laktcharas “Grant” Tauhindauli, a Wintu Indian who was born and worked at Upper Soda Springs resort, a pre-railroad hotel and stagecoach stop north of the present-day park.

.4

Rapids are continuous class II-III around a right corner to the Sacramento Avenue bridge, past beautiful downtown Dunsmuir.

1.2

More houses are visible on the left after the Bush Street bridge. When feasible, look upstream for views of Mount Shasta.

1.7

The river channel becomes less narrow as it passes under Bridge Street, but rapids remain continuous.

3.3

Bridge at South First Street. The Dunsmuir waste water treatment plant is downstream on the left, but we did not notice any bad smell.

Mount Shasta obscured by trees	Looking upriver at Castle Crags

4.4

Good views of Castle Crags on river right, often obscured by trees. Road with turn-around approaches on river left.

5.4

Ledges, class III, with high water sneak route on right. The left side offers some interesting ferry-and-drop routes. About .2 mile below, Soda Creek Road crosses on a bridge.

5.9

Island, class III, as most water goes left and drops at a right bend. Shortly below, a hiking trail is visible on river left.

7.35

Footbridge where patrons of a former hotel crossed to a mineral spring, and where current-day campers can cross from Castle Crags campground to Riverside campground. An excellent takeout is .1 mile below at the site of a spring that supplied mineral water far and wide in the 1800s (fee area).

7.7

Vehicle bridge connecting riverside campground to Castle Crags state park.

8.1

Castle Creek enters on the right. Town of Castella is situated below. Shade Avenue bridge, access status unknown, is at the far end of town.

9.5

Falls Avenue bridge, accessible from an I-5 exit and Sweetbriar Avenue. River access on river right just above the bridge, up a narrow trail. This is the last easy take-out above Mears Creek Falls.

11.3

Difficult take-out at the Conant exit, up and over the railroad tracks.

12.7

Flume Creek enters on the left, oddly enough, thru a flume.

14.0

Railroad bridge across the river and into a tunnel. The tracks emerge and cross the river again in .6 mile.

	These two photos © 2005 Darin McQuoid.
A typical rapid on this stretch	Mears Creek Falls, AKA Triple Drop

14.6

Mears Creek Falls, class IV-V, harder at high flows.
This is a steep three-part drop thru a narrow cleft in the bedrock. Scout and possibly portage on the left (relatively easy, with seal launch). You can also portage on the right along the railroad tracks, which are up a steep embankment where trees obscure your view. Mears Creek enters on river right .2 mile below the top of the falls, offering a short creek run for local boaters.

Upper Mears Falls from the tracks	Mears Creek above the railroad tracks

0 (15.3)

Vehicle bridge to Sims Flat campground. A footbridge built during the Great Depression is just downstream. This bridge, and some stone steps, are all that's left of a CCC encampment. Excellent raft access on river right, and kayak access on river left. The next 14 miles go quickly and contain many good rapids, some of which can change from year to year.

Mount Shasta from Sims Flat bridge	Pine trees shade tents at Sims Flat campground

.2 (15.5)

Tree-lined drop in the right channel below Sims Flat campground. Hazel Creek enters on the left just below.

.7 (16)

Long rapid in a straight-away, then curving right.

1.9 (17.2)

Shotgun Creek enters on the right.

Below a long rapid near Sims Flat	This one contains a very large hole!

2.6 (17.9)

Steep class III+ drop at a right bend.

2.8 (18.1)

Rocky drop with a cliff on the left side.

3.2 (18.5)

Bridge as railroad crosses from right to left bank. More rapids downstream.

4.7 (20)

Railroad goes into a tunnel on river left. Tracks emerge from the tunnel .3 mile later and cross the river on a bridge.

6.1 (21.4)

Interstate highway crosses high overhead. After a .4 mile horseshoe bend, the highway crosses overhead again. The railroad remains on river right.

Scenic section away from the railroad	The canyon continues to widen

6.8 (22.1)

Steep class III+ drop with a rock (or hole at higher flows) in the middle.

7.3 (22.6)

Ranch bridge, oddly not yet washed away.

7.5 (22.8)

North Salt Creek Road bridge, with a log still stuck in the side (2011).

8.6 (23.9)

Bridge as railroad crosses from right to left bank. Pollard Flat take-out, with pleasantly shaded picnic tables, is on the right just downstream.

9.1 (24.4)

Bridge as railroad crosses back to the right bank.

11 (26.3)

Slate Creek enters on the right, near the hamlet of Lamoine. Slate Creek offers a good rainy-season class V run. Whitlow Creek enters on the left .3 mile below.

13 (28.3)

McCardle Gulch on the left, then Mosquito Creek enters on the right.

14.3 (29.6)

Whitehorse Rapid (shown here) used to be shortly above take-out but the gravel bar on the left that created it washed away before summer 2011.

Margrit Petrofsky rowing with Joe and Nick paddling

14.9 (30.2)

Fenders Ferry Road bridge, last take-out before the reservoir. The Delta gauging station is downstream on the left. Shasta Reservoir begins not far below. Downstream of the reservoir, the Sacramento offers a surprisingly scenic all-year class I-II run.

Shuttle Directions

To reach put-in, exit I-5 at the middle Dunsmuir exit, south of where I-5 crosses the river. Turn left on Dunsmuir Avenue, which heads north and crosses the river. Take the first left on Stagecoach Road, then another left on Upper Soda Road. Follow the signs to Tauhindauli Park, where parking is plentiful.

To reach the first take-out, exit I-5 at Castle Crags state park, head east, cross the river on a bridge, and park at Riverside Campground (fee area), or outside the park entrance if you don't mind the walk.

To reach the take-out at Falls Avenue bridge, exit I-5 at Sweetbriar Avenue. Drive north to where the road bends right and crosses the river. Space is tight, so you should park before the bridge.

To reach Sims Flat access and campground, exit I-5 at Sims Road. Cross to the southeast and continue downhill on Sims Road for about half a mile, where it cross the river on a bridge. Turn right into the campground, which is along the river.

To reach the excellent Pollard Flat take-out, take the Pollard Camp / North Salt Creek Road exit off I-5. The river access road is immediately southeast (downhill) from there.

To reach the so-called Dog Bar take-out near the Delta gauge, exit I-5 at Delta, cross to the southwest (uphill) side of the freeway, curve right, then turn left (downstream) onto Fenders Ferry Road, which winds down along Dog Creek to a bridge across the river.

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