Telkwa River
RIVER BETA
Locale: Telkwa, British Columbia
What It's Like: A moderate river run
Class: 2-3, level dependent.
Scouting: Typically read-and-run. Sections can be scouted from the road.
Portages: No known portages.
Egress: A road runs along the length of the river.
Gauge: Telkwa River below Tsai Creek
Time: 2-3 hrs
When To Go: May through October
Other Beta: Look out for wood, particularly on the outsides of river bends.
DESCRIPTION
Description
The Telkwa River is a Class II to Class III river run, depending on the river level. At low water, this section has many small boulder gardens interspersed with flat sections of river and many eddies to catch along the way. At high water, boulders are easily flushed out and the water can flow as high as the alders that line the shores making an exit from the river more challenging.
This river sees a lot of wood each season. Keep an eye out for new log jams, sweepers, and snags (particularly following periods of high water)
Take Out
From Telkwa, follow Riverside Street across the Bulkley River Bridge and follow it across the train tracks to to connect to Telkwa Coalmine Road. Stay on Coalmine Road for 6.1km. Take a slight right on Aveling Coalmine Road and continue for 3.6km. Stay right on Aveling and drive 400m past the junction with the Telkwa River FSR to the takeout. The lower Telkwa River is typically blocked by many large log jams and is not paddled.
Put In
From the take out, drive 400m back to the junction with the Telkwa River FSR and follow the FSR for 7.8 km to a pull out on between the road and the river. Alternatively, park at the rec site on the river left side of the bridge to shorten the run.
Gauge and Water Levels
The Telkwa River gauge is located upstream of the run, below Tsai Creek.