Stream: This creek has been locked behind a Weyerhaeuser gate for many years. When I went to college at Western Oregon (2008-2013) the creek would have access during hunting season, but that went away for awhile. Now it's open and accessible anytime there is enough water to paddle it (only closed during fire season).
Priscilla and I were interested in the run as it's only 30 minutes from Salem, and runs after most significant rain events. I had run the full creek in college once with Anna Herring and Michael Freeman during hunting season, and hiked up a ways on my own a couple times when the gate was locked. Though I didn't remember much, I did recall that there was a fun section near the top and a slow section in the middle before picking back up to class III near the bottom.
This creek is full of quality class III-III+ whitewater, ledgy with plenty of bedrock and some easier floating. There are also 3 class IV rapids, one of which would be difficult to portage. It reminded me of Butte Creek in Scotts Mills, but prettier. There is always going to be wood in the creek, but our trips in the Fall of 2020 yielded only one portage.
We put in, turned the corner and were immediately upon a log jam. We didn't want to portage so moved some wood on river right so we could scoot over. This can be scouted before putting on. We were wondering at this point if we were in for a long day, but it turned out to be only one of two spots where wood was a problem.
Looking downstream at the first rapid below the put in bridge.
Below the first corner was the first fun class III-III+ bedrock rapid, this led to a section of bedrock with a couple fun ledges. This set the tone of the run, which consistently alternates between quality bedrock rapids and easier floating.
The first significant rapid is WUB (Water Under the Bridge), the lead in to this rapid is currently signed with a small marker on river left, as shown here. There are two short ledgy rapids between the marker and WUB. This marker also indicates the easiest place to get out to start a portage.
WUB is easily scouted during the shuttle, and it's worth taking the time to do so.
There is an eddy on the left that allows for a river level scout just above WUB. The line is pretty obvious, and plenty of fun when the rapid is free from wood.
There is about a mile of easy floating below WUB before the second fun class IV, a set of small twisting ledges the guidebook calls "Triple Drop" that can be scouted from either bank.
Just downstream from Triple Drop, the creek pools up and turns left, entering a straight-away (seen in the next photo from below). This straight away has a couple small ledges before it veers right and enters The Gorge, containing the final class IV. The gorge is marked by another sign on river-right, the rock outcrop just below this sign creates an eddy on the right at the start of the straight-away.
It is possible to scout The Gorge from this eddy by walking 100 yards down the bank to the corner. At flows below 2.5 small eddies exist downstream and allow for a shorter walk, but the higher the level the harder to stop. Once past the straight away, the creek veers right and scouting becomes impractical.
Past the point of no return in The Gorge.
I went down to a small eddy on the left our first time, and crawled out onto the bank. This eddy is not an option at 2.5 or higher, and committed us to running the rapid. At those higher flows, scout from upstream on the right or from the road before putting on (scroll to the very bottom of this page to read how to scout The Gorge from the road during the shuttle).
From there I could see through the rapid and that it was clear of wood, so sent Priscilla through. This would be a tricky one to portage from the eddy . It is a flume style rapid, and awfully fun.
Priscilla in the semi-committing rapid within The Gorge.
Below The Gorge was a stretch of easy floating that lasted for awhile. We hunted for surf waves, took a lunch break and breathed in the scenery which was better than I am accustomed to on these logged streams. If you want to put in below the class IV, you can put in along this stretch for a III-III+ day. Instructions for how to do that are at the bottom of this page under "Notes".
We passed beneath another bridge and things picked back up. The rapids down here were more open and high quality class III with some more ledges, slides and hydraulics. Some of the rapids had fun slalom moves too.
A final bridge is passed and the creek enters another narrow bedrock section as the whitewater picks back up into a final class III just above the take out.
Priscilla makes The Twist.
If you do the run, be sure to scout your take out from Mill Creek Park while setting shuttle. Downstream of the take out the creek goes into a class V rapid that has had wood problems in the past and is not easily portaged.
Flows: There is a painted gauge on the highway 22 bridge. We had fun at "1.5" on our first trip, but another local boater ran it later on at "1.5" and felt it was too low (he broke his boat). Yet another boater was there at "1" and called it "the minimum level". We returned again at "2" with some friends in a shredder and all had a good time. "2-2.5" seems like a fair flow to shoot for on a first go if you consider yourself a class III-IV boater. It can definitely be paddled a good bit higher without feeling high (3.4 is still a padded medium), but the eddies to scout the gorge start getting smaller so for III-IV boaters it will require extra vigilance as flows increase.
- About 8,000 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Jan 13, 2021 equated to "9" in Mill Creek ("high, class V").
- About 7,000 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Nov 12, 2021 equated to "7" in Mill Creek ("high").
- About 3,000 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Dec 12, 2021 equated to "3.4" in Mill Creek ("padded med").
- About 2000 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Dec 26, 2020 equated to "2.5" in Mill Creek ("medium").
- About 2500 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Dec 23, 2020 equated to "2" in Mill Creek ("chill level").
- About 1750 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Jan 9, 2021 equated to "2" in Mill Creek ("Friendly medium").
- About 1500 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Dec 17, 2020 equated to "2" in Mill Creek ("Not low").
- About 1500 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Nov 20, 2020 equated to "1.5" in Mill Creek (low runnable).
- About 1500 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Feb 25, 2021 equated to "1" in Mill Creek (minimum).
- About 1150 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Nov, 2021 equated to "1" in Mill Creek (minimum).
- About 1000 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Dec 29, 2020 equated to "1" in Mill Creek (minimum).
- About 750 cfs in the SF Yamhill on Nov 26, 2020 equated to "0" in Mill Creek (too low).
- About 700 cfs in the SF Yamhill on March 5, 2021 equated to "0.5" in Mill Creek (too low).
- About 600 cfs in the SF Yamhill on December 5, 2021 equated to "0" in Mill Creek (too low).
Access: First, I recommend making sure access is still open before heading to Mill Creek. It was open for all of the 2020/2021 boating season outside of fire season. This information can be tracked down from Weyerhaeuser using their hotline or on their website. 1-888-741-5403
Take Highway 22 West out of Salem. In a touch over 20 miles you cross over Mill Creek in Buell (Buell is marked on maps but has no notable buildings). Check the gauge at the bridge, then drive upstream on Mill Creek Rd about 2.5 miles to Mill Creek Park, this is the take out (44.987987226941286, -123.42496411845802). Walk over to the creek and scout your egress options, downstream is a class V gorge without good portage options.
***The roads are active logging roads, so be cautious of large vehicles that you need to yield to. Any accidents or altercations could jeopardize kayak access, so be on your best behavior.
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