Talkeetna River
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SOURCE: The Alaska Packraft Guidebook: Premier Rivers & Creeks in the 49th State (1st ed) Copyright: 2022 by Jule Harle. Refer to the guidebook for additional info, photos, waypoints or detailed river maps. Author permission required to reproduce, duplicate or transfer following content.
QUICK RIVER STATS:
Difficulty: IV
Length: 53 miles
Gauge: USGS Talkeetna River Gauge
Shuttle: Fly in access from Talkeetna: Murder Lake or Buck Stewart airstrip (numerous backcountry route approaches exist)
Put-in: Buck Stewart airstrip or Murder LakeTakeout: Talkeetna Boat Launch
Character: The Talkeetna River is an iconic multi-day whitewater trip. A classic wilderness glacial run that boasts big water rapids, unspoiled scenery & excellent camping opportunities. It is commercially rafted, although it’s highly unlikely you’ll see other boats on the river.
Water Level: Both the NWS & USGS have Talkeetna River gauges. It runs steadily from mid May through September, with flows ranging from 3,000-20,000 cfs. Ideal levels for packrafts are on the lower end, from 3,000-8000 cfs; often found in May or September.
Under 3,000 cfs is still fun, but the difficulty reduces to class III+ or IV- in bigger rapids and III throughout the rest of the canyon. At levels over 7,000 cfs, the water becomes gray & glacial; the whitewater becomes much bigger & pushier. Some holes are massive & breaking waves can easily overturn a boat. Swimming at these higher levels could prove to be long in some sections if one wasn’t quick with self-rescue.
River Description: Fly on floats to Murder Lake OR on wheels to Buck Stewart airstrip. If using Murder Lake, you must float Prairie Creek before getting on the Talkeetna- note that this low volume, clear water creek has a dense infestation of brown bears during salmon runs, mid July-August.
From the Buck Stewart airstrip, it’s about 12 miles of class II gravel bars before Prairie Creek. The action picks up 4 miles downstream of Prairie with the first big wave train as the river makes an obvious right turn. In another 3 miles the river makes another right hand turn with another series of warm-up rapids; wave trains and holes to maneuver around. Right around this point, every bend seems like “this could be the canyon” especially if you’ve never been down before. The canyon officially begins, however, at a river wide ledge hole, known as Entrance Exam (IV). You’ll know you’re there when the river walls in on both sides and you aren’t able to see much downstream. Get out and scout on the right. There’s a well-used social trail with great views of both Entrance Exam & the rapid following, Toilet Bowl.
Toilet Bowl as seen from scout. 4500 cfs
Scouting Entrance Exam, the canyon’s first big move. 5500 cfs
The easiest line on Entrance Exam depends entirely on the level; at higher flows you’ll want to avoid the center and right ledge as a huge hole develops; many large rafts have flipped here at higher flows. Take the tongue on the left. At lower flows, the hole loses its punch, becoming a V-wave, more options exist at these levels.
After Entrance Exam, you’ll paddle briefly through a beautiful gorge; this is the only time you’ll be completely “walled in” and feel like you’re in a canyon you can’t get out of. There’s plenty of time before Toilet Bowl (IV); you can get out on the right and scout this one at river level and even portage easily around it. The main move involves avoiding the giant rock in the center of the river at the end of the rapid; multiple lines exist on both right and left sides. It’s possible to hike back up and do it again for a second flush.
Entrance Exam & Toilet Bowl are the biggest single rapids on the Talkeetna; however, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the “easiest.” Many packrafters have assumed that the challenging & technical whitewater is over after these two rapids- that is incorrect! There are plenty of rapids, wave trains and giant holes to aggressively maneuver through and around downstream.
Once you turn the corner after Toilet Bowl, the river calms down and stays mostly class II for about 3 miles before the action picks back up where the river turns left and canyons in again. The whitewater feels pretty continuous, although there are still opportunities to eddy out and catch your breath. About 1 mile into the action, the river turns sharply left- be sure to avoid the massive hole in the center and go left. I’ve heard this referred to as “Double Trouble” or “Double Suck.”
From here, there are opportunities and breaks in the rapid sections. The rapids gradually taper off in intensity; it’s fairly obvious once you’re out of the canyon- you’ll literally see the walls open up, the “Exit Gates.” After the Iron Creek confluence, you’ll encounter occasional class III features- mostly fun wave trains and a few squirrelly eddy lines, but primarily flat water as you paddle 35ish miles downstream to Talkeetna. Expect this to take 3-4 hours, depending on the flow and how hard you paddle.
Howdy,
Going to be hiking into the upper talkeetna and getting to the Prairie Creek area by July 20. Trying to see if anyone is plotting a trip out there around that same time that wants to fly and meet us to run the canyon. We were gonna have a super cub come in with a re-ration, but could divert those funds to help out with your put in costs if you show up with a case of beer and want a crew to run the canyon with! Raft support would be so dope. We are a group of 3 that will have been out there for 10 days coming in from the Susitna basin.
peace,
CooperHello!
I want to share some thoughts on Talkeetna Canyon packrafting. Ive done a few trips over the last few years at escalating water levels trying to find the sweet spot for packrafting.
My first trip was 4K CFS. This water level was spectacularly scenic for the clear blue water contrasted with golden leaves. Entrance Exam (III at this level IMO) was a straight forward stay on the tongue move. Toilet Bowl (IV) was most fun at this level as a line opens up on the R side of the toilet bowl rock which is very fun and easy to lap! The rest of the canyon felt like class III, with long recovery sections after rapids. Id take almost anyone into the canyon with confidence that gear would be recovered after any swim. Personally, I wanted more juice in the river at this level.
At 6K CFS the following year, Entrance Exam was more challenging in a packraft, as the tongue flipped about 30-50% of our experienced crew, but recovery pool afterward is still great. The fun R side of Toilet Bowl was big enough that nobody in our group ran it, and the standard left side line was straightforward. The rest of the canyon felt similar to at 4K CFS minus the crystal blue water.
Just recently, I came through the canyon at 8200 CFS after hiking in from the Chickaloon. This level finally felt like the continuous whitewater experience! Entrance Exam looked very similar to at 6K, with the recovery area slughtly more washed out (a nasty strainer exists below entrance exam now, more below, so we walked the rapid). The left line on Toilet bowl was way bigger and pushier. The rest of the canyon was my favorite at this level! It was bigger, pushier, and definitely more continuous without good recovery after many rapids. The lines were all read and run but water was big enough that being offline would be a swim. I felt like in many places it would be a challenge to hold gear and self rescue due to continuous nature of the water. The lines were simple enough where it felt fun and not stressful.
Overall, this 8 ish K level felt like the top I would want for Talkeetna Canyon in a packraft, but was also the most fun. I think much more than this would feel unsafe, as I would worry about losing gear in a place that would be horrible to walk out of. For comparison, it felt like a level just below magic line on 6 mile (3rd canyon) between 9.9 and 10 feet where something changes from fun and managable to powerful, continuous, and kind of sketchy in a packraft.
A few other notes:
Entrance Exam has a very nasty river wide spruce strainer right now just as it exits the slot. It was hard to spot from the scout. Best case scenario would be a long swim with hung up gear. Looked like the kind of log that would hold you under. If you are going in this fall please look for this! We walked.
The hike in from Chickaloon was fast and amazing. The horse trail up the chickaloon has been very well maintained and was shockingly fast and goes well above moss creek.
I hope this info is interesting to some!
Charlie
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