Whitewater Rafting Flows in Goodwin Canyon
Goodwin Canyon becomes significantly
more difficult as the flow increases. However, having enough water for your
whitewater rafting trip is always a question, because runnable flows are
unpredictable from season to season..
- 500 - 1000cfs: Class III - IV+
- Above 1000cfs: Class IV - V
"During the campaign for New Melones, the US Army Corp of Engineers proposed to "mitigate" the loss of the Stanislaus upstream by improving the Goodwin Canyon Run and by releasing enough water even during summer irrigation season, to provide a minimum of 600-900 cfs for whitewater rafting. The agency in charge of Goodwin and Tullock dams is the US Bureau of Reclamation, which guarantees a minimum of 650 cfs only one month of the year from April 10 to May 10 for spawning season. The rest of the year, except in periods of heavy runoff when upstream reservoirs are full, the Bureau promises a mere 200 cfs or less."
Excerpted from California White Water by Jim Cassady & Fryar Calhoun
Photos courtesy of All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting