Beaver Fest 2018

The Beaver River Rondezvou is absolutely one of, if not the most fun kayak event I have partook in because the actual kayaking is unexpectedly impressive and the designated camping spot is nothing shy of dreamy. Plus there are runs for all skill levels and you have a chance to compete against top athletes on some tough courses in a relaxed, fun environment.

Saturday:
The Raquette River Race kicks off the weekend with a bang! Located in Colton, NY the race start and put-in are right below an electrical company dam, which on a side note is really cool because all the electrical companies support kayaking. A burly put-in rapid and a out a 100 yards down is Colton’s Falls, an approximate 70′ dynamic double slide drop. After coltons there are about two, class III rapids before the next big section, ending with the Tubs. The race finishes with Particle Accelerator, a burly slide with a bad pillow wall on the right and a violent kicker with consequences after on the left. Hey diddle diddle down the middle and you ramp into the finish line eddy. There is a couple more fun rapids and the takeout is roadside on river right. Easily lappable due rhe distance and excitement to do it again!

Sunday:
Sunday morning is a morning of glory because everyone rallys to the Mosier section of the Beaver because it only realeases ONE DAY A YEAR! Plus if you wake up feeling good like I did my second year, you can hike up to where it spills out of the dam and creates the notorious spillway. Also knows as the Beaver Blaster, this rapid starts off in an eddy just big enough to fit a boat. As you peel out you instantly fall off about a 15′ waterfall landing right into about a quarter-mile slide that you must be right at the bottom on. Just of this year Pat Keller ran the 1st decent of the left line but either way there is a wall with a bunch of rocks and debris piled up right in the middle bottom of the slide. Definitely one of the most fun rapids I have ran. After the Mosier, the Eagle section of the Beaver race starts later in the day and is only about 20 minutes away. The Eagle is single track kayaking, with about 3 slide drops and a 5′ waterfall right at the finish. A truly beautiful river and amazing run to kayak.

Monday:
Now this is just another reason this event is so cool is because its on Labor Day and almost everyone stays for monday too! Plus Monday is a glorious day because the lake you camp right next to is actually man made by the dam so you just set shuttle from camp and put on to Taylorsville Lake and paddle to the Taylorsville section of the Beaver. A really fun class III run with quality rapids and a ton of lines!

The drive home is far but beautiful for the past 3 years Beaver Fest has been nothing less than an amazing weekend up north. A definite recommendation.