Kayaking Big Bend Dam, Lake Oroville, CA
35′ drop over Big Bend Dam on N. Fork of Feather River. The Big Bend run is a class III / IV run just below the Poe Powerhouse and Poe reach. The run is about 7 miles long when lake levels on Lake Oroville drop to 740 ft. Included in video clip is Box Car Rapid which should be scouted. Other class iv rapids appear at the end when the lake is about 705 feet (big holes on left, read and run from river right) and rumors of a class V rapid lurking even futher down and may have showed up when the lake was really low in Dec 2008. The box car is no longer sitting in the middle of the rapid but there is still train wreckage evident on river left. Flow in video is approx 1200 cfs but turbines can release up to 4000cfs and the waves get quite huge at higher flows so the run has a fun big water feel. The run is only uncovered in the fall during draught years and when the Oroville Reservoir is low (we start running it when the lake drops below 740ft). We hired a boat to tow us out of the lake (call Lake Oroville Marina) otherwise you face a long paddle out (4 to7 miles depending on lake level) to the boat ramp at Dark Canyon.
Duration : 0:1:18