Virginia whitewater - Pohick Creek, Fairfax County
Fairfax
county,
Route 636 to Route 1 section whitewater kayaking, rafting, and paddling information.
CLASS II-III+ 5.5 miles
Ran it last night-25 Oct 05. CFS was 220. I put on at Hooves road vice the walk down from the sub division noted in AWA write-up. The whole run from Hooves to bridge at Route 1 took me 2 hours of paddling straight, no playing. 40 mins of that was in the dark or near dark. Nice and worth while run if you have the time. 3 mandatory portages in first 2 miles from Hooves to valley area behind Rolling Road subdivision due to down trees. If you're short on time, just put on by the walk way down to the creek from that neighborhood (can't remember the street)
off Rolling road. That's where the fun rock garden area is. Easy section and really fun creek type section where all the gradient drop off is. Great area to pratice beginner creek style running. Next run will be South run of the Pohick when it comes back up. I looked at it yesterday
too and thought it was runable but higher than 220 would be better, I'm guessing 250 -275 cfs. I pretty sure Pohick will not be runable today. The great thing about the run is there are huge sections were you never know you're in a urban/suburban surroundings. Take out on right side of bridge at route 1. If you get the chance do it. Dave Robey Says Dave Robey
This section of Pohick Creek in Virginia is 5.5 miles long and is rated by American Whitewater as a class II-III+ section. The starting location is a short drive from Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
please print out a copy of the road map further down the page so you won’t get lost. There are no other sections to paddle along Pohick Creek than the Route 636 to Route 1 section. Getting your paddling muscles activated and just hanging out with mother nature are great attractions
for lots of people. You might be into whitewater rafting or kayaking or both, doesn't matter, this area has a large number of paddling places. You can pitch a tent or park your RV at a nearby campground. Whitewater rafting and kayaking in this state is often easier than elsewhere,
so keep in mind that many of the sections here are safe for beginners. This section is long enough to enjoy a good non stop paddle, good for a one day paddling trip. The nature scenery of Virginia and the cool fresh water are in themselves reasons enough to come here to paddle.
Briefly
about the general area: All through the warmest time of the year, highs generally are in the 80's at Pohick Creek. Once the sun is down it plunges down to the 60's. Daytime highs through the winter are in the 40's while Pohick Creek night low temperatures all through the wintertime
are in the 20's. Pohick Creek is a good place of normal rain; most of the rain falls during May; January meanwhile is the driest month.
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