Class Six Rapids( with pics)

[Richard in Smithville]

First off, I didn't shoot the rapids: I'm not that crazy. What I did was take my family to the White Water Walk along the lower Niagara River down stream from Niagara Falls. The sheer power of the water as it travels through the gorge is just amazing. Here are just a few of the pictures I took today.

This is just past the Whirlpool Bridge between Canada and the U.S. It pretty much marks the beginning of the rapids as the Niagara Gorge narrows.


The next few are along the the river from the 1000 ft boardwalk. The pictures don't do justice to the river.







I saw this crazy bugger wading in the water ( U.S. side) a few yards away from the raging current!



I am not sure how he got there as the top 50-75 feet of the gorge is a sheer cliff! He must have climed down up river and traveled the narrow shore.
Last shot is my happy family show how to safely get close to the rivers edge.



We all had a great time and it's something my girls should experiance as it's only 45 minutes from home.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour.

[MilDoc]

"Class 6 rapids are considered hazardous even for expert paddlers using state-of-the-art equipment, and come with the warning "danger to life or limb." (Skill Level: Expert)"

Had to look that up. Nope, I wouldn't try then either!

[Pappy]

I've taken a class 4 in a kayak. Not sure I want to try even a 5.

There is a beauty in the shear power of that water. What is in the pictures is churning so bad even an expert paddler would have problems reading the river. Fantastic pictures.

[dbhost]

I've done class III in a canoe. Yikes! That's just scary looking there!

[shoottx]

A very nice looking family. And great pictures of the rapids.

Not being a kayaker the closest I've come to that kind of rapids was a class three in the bathtub after Mexican ---Oh never mind

[BobSch]

Been there and that's some scary water. I may be nuts, but not THAT nuts!

[Lee4847]

That is one thing I haven't done in NF. I have seen it from above and is is impressive from 200 ft above. We will be camping and staying in the Fort Erie are in August. We will put this on our list of "toDo's". Thanks for the info.

[wbsettle]

EJ and company ran the gorge last year...probably as a promotional stunt.

[sparkeyjames]

EJ and company ran the gorge last year...probably as a promotional stunt.

Crazy and lucky to be alive. What a rush that must have been.

[Pappy]

EJ and company ran the gorge last year...probably as a promotional stunt.

Reading the write up, they put in at an eddie, peeled out, and prayed a lot. I think the run was done more on pure luck than skill or finese, with very little real control of the boats. Not the smartest way to paddle no matter how good you are!