Rock Creek Blueway

[Arkansasfiddler]

Some friends and I are trying to gain interest in a Rock Creek Blueway. What if Rock Creek in Little Rock wasn't just a huge drainage ditch for the city but a premiere whitewater and float stream?

Could we build reservoirs to hold more water after heavy rains and release it more slowly to increase the window of floatable water levels, improve water quality and decrease erosion?

Could Boyle Park be turned into a Whitewater Play Park?

Can we restore a drainage ditch to an natural habitat and community asset?

Can we connect neighborhoods along the creek via bike and walking trails?

Could this be part of a larger water trail that linked up with Fouche Creek and the Arkansas River?

We need big ideas! If you think it would be cool, please check out our facebook page and get the conversation going!

https://www.facebook.com/RockTownPaddlers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tim Eubanks]

I've thought about that a lot, I drive across it on 630 twice a day. It would be great if it was a welcoming sight coming into the city rather than a trashy ditch.
But.....our do-little city government can't even complete a short segment of the River Trail. Getting their buy-in on something as bold and progressive as Rock Creek revitalization is a long shot at best. Buddy Vilines might get it done though.

[sig]

NWA is doing a lot with their greenway system. They use creeks to cross under roads via bridges and concrete box culverts.

[Cadron Boy]

Folks don't know what they don't know.

The next time Rock Creek is a "go" we need to put a bunch of paddlers on the creek at highly visible locations and let folks see Rock Creek's potential.

Jason F. and co-horts at the USGS have done a most impressive job in scouting and defining practically every stone and tree along the waterway. I would be glad to share this hefty piece of field work with anyone who is a a "friend to the Rock Creek Blueway" -- it'll change the way you look at the creek.

PM me here or e-mail me at CadronBoy@sbcglobal.net and I'll send you a copy.

[Shep]

Check with Doug Webber about what a dunking in Rock Creek does. I think he was pretty ill after he ran it last time. Although I salute the goal, I worry that using it and getting it cleaned up is a chicken and egg type situation.

[Cadron Boy]

As they say, "what doesn't kill ya only makes one stronger".

And sadly when Rock Creek is a go that is when it is at its "nastiest" due to run-off, septic loss, etc. But that said -- there probably isn't a month that has gone by in the last ten years in which I haven't paddled or waded Rock Creek and I have yet to have ever incurred illness or injury -- may be I'm lucky or may be I just have a great immune system as I never ever get sick despite high diaiy exposure to infectious agents both at work and play.

But let's not write off Rock Creek -- I have seen much worse urban streams be rehabilitated for recreational purposes and/or improve wildlife habitat. In the Pacific Northwest many streams (Piper, Thorton, Wallingford, etc.) were once so foul that they were practically devoid of all life -- today they support salmon runs once again and flow crystal clear. Even the worst of the worst -- the Duwamish River which was once used as chemical dump now supports an array of wildlife and is used by paddlers each and every day. In fact, it's greenbelt has become a major attraction in south Seattle. And these streams faced far more insults and damage than Rock Creek. And other large cities and small towns have their own story -- when I was a kid you dare not set foot in Town Branch in Yellville Arkansas , you dind't even want to stand close enough to smell it -- today with very little effort the stream is an asset to the community where once it was an eye sore. Similarly, with a community wide committment and adequate funding Rock Creek could be an entirely different stream in just 3-5 years. It's an easy clean-up in comparison with many of our other urban waterways and harbors.

Moreover its unsettling when folks give up on a river or stream. And I assure you once you have said good-bye to one river it becomes easier to accept the loss of another. I believe we should fight for the preservation of all streams regardless of whether they are lie within a national park or not, or whether they are surrounded by public or private property or whether they seem to be a "hopeless cause". Today we are armed with so many "treatment options" -- rain gardens as is being proposed in Conway and other communities, infiltration and retention basins -- they have been proposed for Rock Creek west of Shackleford but sadly more for flood protection than stream preservation, sediment sumps and percolation trenches, bioremediation, and so forth.

If Rock Creek be a "lost cause" -- then in time all our rivers will be a "lost cause" and we will only have ourselves to blame. As the old adage goes, "if you ain't part of thr solution, then you be part of the problem".

Little Rock is quickly becoming famous for its biking trails -- it could just as easily become famous for its paddling trails. The choice is ours.

[Tim Eubanks]

Not to highjack the thread, but...don't forget the Big Maumelle above the lake is accessible due to recent changes in CAW's "rules". In the past they did not really want you in there and required a permit even to paddle around: that has changed.

[we66erno1]

I love Rock Creek. And I've never gotten sick there. I've yet to experience the taste of Little Rock creek water. I have sen others swim, flip, and swim on RC. And the only person I've know to get sick afterwards, was probably due to the night of drinking we had later in the evening.

It's got some good whitewater below Boyle Park bridge to the take out at Flying D's bar on University(get your required 151 shot when you take out here) and from the Sherman Willams(markham) to the Denny's near Finacial parkway.

I've run all the way from the put in at Sherman Williams to Flying D's. I would recommend no one at this time, to float the section from Denny's to the old Andy's on markham. It has to many strainers. The section above and below there, I try to keep clear of debris when I can. But the middle section would require an army of people to make it passable.

It's mostly fast moving water through willows. I'd say the section below the Boyle Park bridge and the section from Sherman williams to Denny's could be considered CLASS III+, due to the required eddy hopping, required ferries, and deadly consequences if you foul up along the way. The pipe and low water bridge at kinas park are also a deadly man made features. You can portage both by taking out river right under the highway bridge. After that you can walk up the trail, across the creek, and through Kinas park. Be prepared for trouble though if doing this portage. Besides the homeless camp on river right, directly down river of the 630 bridge. This area is also a know place for nefarious people and drug dealers/junkies. You can run both features at certain levels. Either bracing while passing under the pipe or paddling over it, if the water is high enough. The low water bridge should be run far far river left, with a required boof stroke. This bridge is extremely, EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! Scout before you run it and set safety if you can. It's a river wide hydraulic that will pull you back in and you will have a very unhappy day.

Look for 7+ feet on the Guage for RC and you'll be in for a fast/wild time. Anything below 7ft is "Low, but floatable. Anyone running any of Rock Creek, should have the skills to run class III and should carry a pin kit.

When it runs I always try to catch it if I'm stuck in town.