Copeland Creek
Location - North Umpqua Tributary
Difficulty - Class IV-IV+ Length - 4 miles
Level - Date - 1/3/2010
Difficulty - Class IV-IV+ Length - 4 miles
Level - Date - 1/3/2010
The arrival of the new decade coincided with the
largest storm of the season, which meant that high
water would be coinciding with a three day
weekend. This was a perfect scenario for heading
out and getting some boating done. After a day of
surfing, followed by a day of creeking on a familiar
run, we were ready to hit up a new river. Finding
one was not difficult, especially with the abundance
of runs in the Northwest. A good friend of ours from
southern Oregon had been working to get us down
his way to run Copeland Creek for several years,
and it was finally time to make good on our
promises to head south.
Soggy Sneakers, the most complete printed guide
to paddling in Oregon, rated Copeland as one of
the best class IV creeks in the state, but in 2006
the Forest Service cut and placed logs in the
streambed to help with the creation of habitat for
spawning salmon. This, combined with a couple of
years of heavy low elevation snow made for a river
clogged with a great deal of wood. Thanks to the
dedicated efforts of a few individuals, the river is
now clean enough to run and the Forest Service is
aware of the needs of paddlers.
largest storm of the season, which meant that high
water would be coinciding with a three day
weekend. This was a perfect scenario for heading
out and getting some boating done. After a day of
surfing, followed by a day of creeking on a familiar
run, we were ready to hit up a new river. Finding
one was not difficult, especially with the abundance
of runs in the Northwest. A good friend of ours from
southern Oregon had been working to get us down
his way to run Copeland Creek for several years,
and it was finally time to make good on our
promises to head south.
Soggy Sneakers, the most complete printed guide
to paddling in Oregon, rated Copeland as one of
the best class IV creeks in the state, but in 2006
the Forest Service cut and placed logs in the
streambed to help with the creation of habitat for
spawning salmon. This, combined with a couple of
years of heavy low elevation snow made for a river
clogged with a great deal of wood. Thanks to the
dedicated efforts of a few individuals, the river is
now clean enough to run and the Forest Service is
aware of the needs of paddlers.
Despite the reassurances of our friend from Roseburg that the run was clean and of the
highest quality, we were still a bit concerned about finding endless log portages, low
water, and manky rapids. The rain had ended on Friday and we wouldn’t be putting on
until Sunday afternoon at what is often regarded as a minimum flow for the river. Based
on our other adventures in the Umpqua Drainage, I was fully expecting a run with some
great rapids marred by lot of wood.
We grouped up in Roseburg and consolidated vehicles before heading up towards
Copeland Creek, a tributary of the North Umpqua River. After driving upstream for the
better part of an hour we finally reached the turn off at Copeland Creek Road and began
winding our way up the one lane road that followed the creek. As we made our way up
there were tantalizingly few glimpses of the creek far below. The road was littered with
fallen rocks and a few thin patches of snow could be found. We stopped several times to
peer down at a couple of rapids to discuss lines and the wood situation. At the put in the
muddy road was littered with elk tracks and surrounded by lush forest. Boats were
unloaded, shuttle run, and we were underway shortly after noon.
To reach our put in we dropped several hundred feet by hiking down towards the river,
occasionally following a game trail, until we slid the boats down the last fifty feet to the
water. Just above us was the appropriately named Paul Bunyan Falls, a sweet looking 20
to 25 foot drop named for the copious amounts of wood making it completely unrunnable.
From the put in we were looking downstream at a log jam that hid the horizon line made
by the first bigger drop on the river. A quick paddle, followed by a short drag around the
logs, brought us to the eddy above Sneaky Snake, a solid class IV+ ledge drop most
worthy of a scout.
The Sneaky Snake is a ledge drop with a total vertical of about fifteen feet occurring in a
small top drop and a sliding second drop, with a sweet sliding boof on river left. The
complication is that majority of the river drops into a crack on river right that holds a
vicious hydraulic backed up by a mossy cliff wall. Dropping off line and blundering into the
crack is pretty easy to avoid, but making that mistake would lead to what could be the last
epic beating of your life. Take the time to scout thoroughly before dropping into the rapid
and be sure to check the winding run out for wood. A somewhat difficult portage is
possible on river left, and about half of our group chose that option. Despite the danger
of the crack the line was straightforward and I ran a great line, flying off of the boof and
landing in the pool below the drop with the others that had run the Snake.
highest quality, we were still a bit concerned about finding endless log portages, low
water, and manky rapids. The rain had ended on Friday and we wouldn’t be putting on
until Sunday afternoon at what is often regarded as a minimum flow for the river. Based
on our other adventures in the Umpqua Drainage, I was fully expecting a run with some
great rapids marred by lot of wood.
We grouped up in Roseburg and consolidated vehicles before heading up towards
Copeland Creek, a tributary of the North Umpqua River. After driving upstream for the
better part of an hour we finally reached the turn off at Copeland Creek Road and began
winding our way up the one lane road that followed the creek. As we made our way up
there were tantalizingly few glimpses of the creek far below. The road was littered with
fallen rocks and a few thin patches of snow could be found. We stopped several times to
peer down at a couple of rapids to discuss lines and the wood situation. At the put in the
muddy road was littered with elk tracks and surrounded by lush forest. Boats were
unloaded, shuttle run, and we were underway shortly after noon.
To reach our put in we dropped several hundred feet by hiking down towards the river,
occasionally following a game trail, until we slid the boats down the last fifty feet to the
water. Just above us was the appropriately named Paul Bunyan Falls, a sweet looking 20
to 25 foot drop named for the copious amounts of wood making it completely unrunnable.
From the put in we were looking downstream at a log jam that hid the horizon line made
by the first bigger drop on the river. A quick paddle, followed by a short drag around the
logs, brought us to the eddy above Sneaky Snake, a solid class IV+ ledge drop most
worthy of a scout.
The Sneaky Snake is a ledge drop with a total vertical of about fifteen feet occurring in a
small top drop and a sliding second drop, with a sweet sliding boof on river left. The
complication is that majority of the river drops into a crack on river right that holds a
vicious hydraulic backed up by a mossy cliff wall. Dropping off line and blundering into the
crack is pretty easy to avoid, but making that mistake would lead to what could be the last
epic beating of your life. Take the time to scout thoroughly before dropping into the rapid
and be sure to check the winding run out for wood. A somewhat difficult portage is
possible on river left, and about half of our group chose that option. Despite the danger
of the crack the line was straightforward and I ran a great line, flying off of the boof and
landing in the pool below the drop with the others that had run the Snake.
Following the Snake Copeland Creek runs through a beautiful valley with moss covered rocks, some mellow ledges, easy class II-III rapids, and old growth trees.
Wood was only in play in a few spots on this upper section, which was actually a pleasant surprise. At one point we had to roll under a riverwide log, but it was in a
mellow part of the river and not a hazard.
Before we realized it, we had reached the bridge from which we had scouted one of the steeper rapids on the run and I hopped out on the left to set up for taking
some pictures. The rapid look quite significant when we had scouted it from the road, with a three foot drop into a hole above a nasty chunk of rock at the bottom of
the rapid. From river level the drop looked much less intimidating and everyone ran nice lines, with the current actually pushing paddlers away from the rock pile at
the bottom of the rapid. We boogied around a couple of corners and arrived at a large log jam above the first sizeable rapid that we had scouted from the road.
Wood was only in play in a few spots on this upper section, which was actually a pleasant surprise. At one point we had to roll under a riverwide log, but it was in a
mellow part of the river and not a hazard.
Before we realized it, we had reached the bridge from which we had scouted one of the steeper rapids on the run and I hopped out on the left to set up for taking
some pictures. The rapid look quite significant when we had scouted it from the road, with a three foot drop into a hole above a nasty chunk of rock at the bottom of
the rapid. From river level the drop looked much less intimidating and everyone ran nice lines, with the current actually pushing paddlers away from the rock pile at
the bottom of the rapid. We boogied around a couple of corners and arrived at a large log jam above the first sizeable rapid that we had scouted from the road.
We waded and climbed around the pile of huge trees and staged our boats on a gravel bar above this cool drop which fell through a mini gorge with vertical
walls. A quick river scout showed a couple of options at the top drop, with the best being a river right boof. About half of the group ran down on river left while the
rest of us boofed on the right before regrouping in an eddy below. The next stretch of river contained a bit of wood, with a portage or two, but the gradient also
picked up and we paddled through a series of fun class IV boulder gardens. Everything was easily boat scoutable, but in several places we hopped out quickly to
check for wood.
Just as we were starting to really enjoy the fun rapids we eddied out on river right above the largest horizon line of the trip. A quick scout showed a sliding five
foot drop leading into a perfectly clean 15 foot waterfall that landed in a deep pool with no significant hydraulic. The angle for taking pictures from the top of the
drop was pretty bad so I ran first with no problems and hopped out on river left to take some shots. The lead in was shallow enough to prevent an auto boof, but
everyone ran nice lines of this easy and fun drop.
After the falls the creek settled into a mile long stretch of steeper boulder filled drops with some wood to avoid, a few ledges, and one major log jam. While not
particularly difficult, the quality of the rapids was quite good. With another 6 inches of water in the river the whole run would have picked up speed and been a lot
of fun. The beautiful green blue waters of Copeland Creek gave the canyon a pristine feeling and helped make this an outstanding day.
walls. A quick river scout showed a couple of options at the top drop, with the best being a river right boof. About half of the group ran down on river left while the
rest of us boofed on the right before regrouping in an eddy below. The next stretch of river contained a bit of wood, with a portage or two, but the gradient also
picked up and we paddled through a series of fun class IV boulder gardens. Everything was easily boat scoutable, but in several places we hopped out quickly to
check for wood.
Just as we were starting to really enjoy the fun rapids we eddied out on river right above the largest horizon line of the trip. A quick scout showed a sliding five
foot drop leading into a perfectly clean 15 foot waterfall that landed in a deep pool with no significant hydraulic. The angle for taking pictures from the top of the
drop was pretty bad so I ran first with no problems and hopped out on river left to take some shots. The lead in was shallow enough to prevent an auto boof, but
everyone ran nice lines of this easy and fun drop.
After the falls the creek settled into a mile long stretch of steeper boulder filled drops with some wood to avoid, a few ledges, and one major log jam. While not
particularly difficult, the quality of the rapids was quite good. With another 6 inches of water in the river the whole run would have picked up speed and been a lot
of fun. The beautiful green blue waters of Copeland Creek gave the canyon a pristine feeling and helped make this an outstanding day.
Eventually the gradient begins to taper off and the creek comes around a right hand bend with a hundred foot tall overhanging cliff rising up on the left.
While floating into the pool at the base of this cliff an incredible view of Eagle Rock comes into view straight ahead, and on this day the rock was lit up
by the late afternoon sunshine. We all contentedly floated downstream into a wider streambed with is share of wood and alders growing out of gravel
bars now covered by shallow class II riffles. The highway bridge soon comes into view and Copeland dumps into the North Umpqua just below. A quick
hundred yard paddle leads down to the take out.
While Copeland Creek is certainly not the steepest or the hardest river around, it does boast a long stretch of solid rapids with a handful of bigger
drops that most anyone would find entertaining. The fun rapids combine with the great scenery to make this a great river. Even though most of the
whitewater is approachable for those just getting into creeking, the presence of wood puts a premium on not making mistakes in several places. For
this reason tentative paddlers will probably want to stay away, especially at higher flows.
While floating into the pool at the base of this cliff an incredible view of Eagle Rock comes into view straight ahead, and on this day the rock was lit up
by the late afternoon sunshine. We all contentedly floated downstream into a wider streambed with is share of wood and alders growing out of gravel
bars now covered by shallow class II riffles. The highway bridge soon comes into view and Copeland dumps into the North Umpqua just below. A quick
hundred yard paddle leads down to the take out.
While Copeland Creek is certainly not the steepest or the hardest river around, it does boast a long stretch of solid rapids with a handful of bigger
drops that most anyone would find entertaining. The fun rapids combine with the great scenery to make this a great river. Even though most of the
whitewater is approachable for those just getting into creeking, the presence of wood puts a premium on not making mistakes in several places. For
this reason tentative paddlers will probably want to stay away, especially at higher flows.
Dan hitting the auto boof at the Sneaky Snake. The crack on river right has to be avoided at all costs.
The Snake from below is an impressive looking rapid. Luckily none of wood littering the
banks was in play.
banks was in play.
The pool below the Snake is kind of a neat place, with the drop pouring down from above and a busy run out leading around a blind corner.
Kristin scouting one of the bigger drops on the run found a mile or so below the put in.
Eagle Rock loomed into view as Copeland Creek flattened out and made its way to the
North Umpqua.
North Umpqua.
Shawn entering an unnamed rapid on the upper section of Copeland Creek. The pile of boulders at the bottom of the rapid is easily avoided.
After a quick portage around the log jam pictured here the river ran through a class III rapid before entering a fun double drop.
Copeland Creek has a lot of fun class III boogie water with steeper boulder gardens and fun drops spaced throughout its course.
Roman enjoying the scenery along an easy stretch of Copeland Creek.
A fun boof at the top of a great little class IV mini gorge somewhere on the first half of the
run. The center of the rapid hid a piton rock that could have easily caused a pin.
run. The center of the rapid hid a piton rock that could have easily caused a pin.
Pristine scenery on the lower section of Copeland Creek combined with fun raids to make for a great day.
Nate runs a nice line off of the single biggest drop on Copeland Creek. It may have been a gimme, but it sure was fun.
Another shot of the falls from below. Unfortunately the steep cliff walls prevented us from making more than one trip over the drop.