Customer Reviews

Western Whitewater from the Rockies to the Pacific: A River Guide for Raft, Kayak, and Canoe

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I can't believe that this would go out of print due to unpopularity. This guide is too good and too popular among river rats I know. I suspect liability issues, though I really hope it is coming out again, new and improved

This definitive guide of runnable rivers in the West features detailed directions to put-ins, take-outs, mile-by-mile guides to the rivers (including descriptions and suggestions of routes and scouting points in major rapids).

I love this book so much and regard it as so valuable that I'm almost tempted to pay the astronomical and ridiculous fee of $75 to once again own a copy. But I probably won't.

Definitely a must-have for anyone who runs rivers in the western US, regardless of conveyance. This is a comprehensive listing of major (and not-so-major) runs giving mile-by-mile descriptions of the rivers, their rapids, and points of interest. While the fact that it's out of print may lead to some errors that develop over time (the take-out on the Klamath River isn't as described any longer), the sheer volume of information in this book is too great to ignore.

This book has been very helpful over the years. We've had it since 1995 and it's the best, most comprehensive book on whitewater in the west. We have been looking for an up-dated version as some of the phone #'s and contacts are no longer accurate but apparently there is no such thing. We just got back from a vacation and we were planning on an extended trip on the Klamath river in Northern California. Unfortunately we got there and the river has changed to the point that it's no longer as the book describes. Due to the algae and a weird, white-yellow foam we decided against putting our raft in.
Bottom line, don't be afraid to use this book but track down CURRENT phone #'s and contacts for ferrying and river information. Although a bit of the information is outdated, it is still the best book we've found on the subject.

"NOW ALL THE GREAT RIVERS OF THE WEST ARE IN A SINGLE BOOK!
Western Whitewater tells experts,
novices,
and armchair adventures alike what they want to know about 160 rivers from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast.
They're all here:
long wilderness rivers like the Middle Fork of the Salmon and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado;
popular advanced and intermediate runs ranging from one day to more than a week;
difficult,
little-known streams for experts only;
and easy flatwater floats suitable for novice boaters.

Includes mile-by-mile guides,
maps, photos, and much more."
[from the back cover]

This is a big book, 590 pages, that is just packed with useful information. Most of the book is devoted to matter-of-fact information that one would expect, such as how to get to the put-in, and what the notable rapids in that section of river are rated. It also has a running commentary on river use controversies, from the conservationists' point of view naturally, that I found fascinating.

The strength of this book is that every notable recreational river west of the Mississippi is inside; given the amount of space available to describe each river, the coverage is excellent.

The weakness of this book is mainly that it is not the definitive guide to any river. It doesn't try to be; that wouldn't be practical. It does point out the books that are definitive (as of 1994). The book dates to 1994, and I certainly hope that another edition is in the works. Other than sixteen gorgeous pages of color plates in the center of the book, the book is black and white. I wished in particular that the river diagrams were in color, as they seem a bit lacking.

Anyone who wonders how the rivers he or she knows personally compare to any other river worth paddling in the Western US will find this book indispensable.