From The Aspen Times

GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Footage of the Glenwood Springs White Park can now be seen on youtube.com, which might answer any questions concerning the popularity of the town’s newest attraction.

“It’s taken off a little quicker than we had expected it would,” said Brian Wright, co-owner of Glenwood Canyon Kayak.

Wright and his business partner, Chris Vogt, are surprised at how quickly interest in the whitewater park has spread, not only throughout Colorado but also nationally and worldwide.

“It’s crazy, the attention it’s been receiving,” Wright said. “It’s turned out better than we even dreamed.”Read More...

Tags: Whitewater Park | Colorado

Elkhorn City may beat out Bardstown on the chance at having the first Kentucky whitewater park.

From Boatertalk

We (the Elkhorn City Heritage Council) were notified yesterday that we'd won a grant to develop a feasibility study to create several streambed play features in the downtown Elkhorn City area.

As many of you might know, the Russell runs right through the middle of Elkhorn City, with a decent bit of gradient. There are several spots we've looked at over the years that, with minimal 'help', could become sweet play spots. Now we've got a few dollars (ok, more than a few) to pay the professionals who do this kind of thing.

Our mantra for this project is 'minimalism is best'. We're hoping to create features that come in when the river is down to its normal low summer flows (around 200cfs), but remain in as the river gets up to fall release flows (800+). We are absolutely NOT trying to divert the streambed, alter the normal flows, etc, etc. If we can't do it in the existing streambed with minimal work, we're not doing anything. Also, this work is NOT be tied to the efforts to get low water releases on the Fork in summer. What we have in mind wouldn't rely on any supplement to the natural flow.

Our goal, of course, is to broaden the appeal of whitewater on the RF and get more folks into downtown E.C. Our models are the several Colorado locations which have created these types of 'whitewater parks' in existing streambeds.

BTW, a major component of the grant is a local education campaign to try to wean everyone from the county judge to the local dog-catcher from referring to all whitewater activities as 'raftin'. While we got nothing against raftin, that's certainly not what the vast majority of paddlers are doing here. We'll also be heading into the local schools pushing the youth to get interested. The Council will be purchasing a creek boat and boating gear (paddle, helmet, pfd) for these public presentations, along with some whitewater videos featuring the Fork. We're always open to interested sponsors.

The Elkhorn City Area Heritage Council is a registered 501c3 non-profit corporation.

Tags: Whitewater Park | Russell Fork

The whitewater park builders from Riverestorations.org have completed work on the Avon Whitewater Park in Colorado.

The park was designed by Glenwood-based River Restoration and features three river runs for kayakers Baby Bob, Bob Jr. and Bob Sr., graded from beginner to advanced. Baby Bob provides kayakers who are still wet behind the ears with an opportunity to sharpen their skills. The intermediate freestyle kayaker can throw around some moves on Bob Jr., and Bob Sr. provides challenging entertainment for the most advanced of freestyle kayakers. The terrain is groomed along certain parts of the river and rock beds have been built up bank side to provide kayakers easy access to the water. Additionally, the park features new wetland plantings and a beautifully constructed spectator viewing terraces.

Tags: Whitewater Park | TV

Land and Water Conservation Fund grant applications available Dec. 15

FRANKFORT, Ky. - The Governor’s Office for Local Development (GOLD) is now accepting applications for the 2008 Recreational Trails Program grant, and will accept applications for Land and Water Conservation Fund grants beginning December 15.

Applications are available online at www.gold.ky.gov. For additional program information, please contact Jodie McDonald by phone at 800-346-5606, ext. 222, or by email at jodie.mcdonald@ky.gov.

The deadline to submit a Recreational Trails application is February 1, 2008. The deadline to submit a Land and Water Conservation Fund application is March 1, 2008.

The Recreational Trails Program is funded through the Federal Highway Administration and may be used to acquire land for recreational trails and to develop and renovate trails for both motorized and non-motorized use. Recreational Trails funding is administered by GOLD.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides grant funds to protect important natural areas, to acquire land for outdoor recreation and to develop or renovate public outdoor recreation facilities such as campgrounds, picnic areas, sports and playfields, swimming facilities, boating facilities, fishing facilities, trails, natural area and passive parks. The LWCF is funded by the National Park Service and administered by GOLD.

Tags: Whitewater Park

The Bardstown Whitewater Park should fit into this campaign very nicely.

Tags: Whitewater Park

Spalding Hurst recently hiked to Rowan Creek from the My Old Kentucky Home State Park and has this report on the falls of Rowan Creek.

Rowan Creek has a pretty good set of falls on it, right beside Poettershop Road. But it also has a access by way of the My Old Kentucky Home park. Their is a trail that spans the creek and ends near Pottershop Road where the Falls of Rowan Creek are. After checking this spot out on Sunday morning I think it has the potential to be a nice park and surf after some heavy rains. I was surprised at how much water was moving through the creek on this day. Probably about 50 cfs.

I did not take any pictures but attached is a picture from a few years ago when John Mathews, Jay Thomas and myself hiked the creek. The play spot would be on the lower drop, about a 4 foot drop. There is pretty good access from Pottershop road at this point, so hiking in like I did is not mandatory.

The next time we get some heavy rains and I can get to Bardstown I plan to really check this spot out.

Tags: Rowan Creek | Whitewater Park

Legislation was introduced in the House Thursday, October 25th, to authorize funding to rehabilitate and repair aging public dams in the United States. Rep. John Salazar (D-CO) introduced the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 which would provide $200 million over five years to repair state and locally owned dams. The legislation is nearly identical to legislation introduced in the 109th congress (H.R. 1105) that failed to pass before that congress adjourned last December.

ASCE's 2005 Report Card for America's Infrastructure gave dams a grade of D, and the Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates that $10 billion is needed over the next 10 years to make repairs to the nation's most critical dams. Key Contacts are encouraged to contact your Representative and ask him or her to cosponsor the legislation.

The bill text is available at http://thomas.loc.gov

Tags: Whitewater Park

Here is a video from a proposed whitewater park in Spokane, WA. It does good job of illustrating the benefits of bringing such a park to communities.


Friends of the Falls is a non-profit organization working to protect and improve access to the historic Spokane Falls and river gorge. Primary activities include leading implementation of projects identified in the community-based Strategic Master Plan developed for the area.

Tags: Whitewater Park

BRIAN WALKER The Kentucky Standard

A May 2006 proposal to create a park near the Bardstown city dam that could draw in boaters from several states hasn’t happened yet, but the project isn’t dead in the water. Although no official action has been taken by city government, its engineers and the council are receptive to researching the mutual benefits retro-fitting the dam on Beech Fork River and nearby area could have for boaters and the water supply.

Bardstown City Engineer Larry Hamilton said at Tuesday’s Council meeting work on a proposal with the Army Corps of Engineers along with input from a group of designers and a professor from the University of Louisville show the project is still viable. Originally the Bardstown Boaters brought the idea to light at a tourism meeting as a way to improve the dam and create a “place to play” at the same time. Spalding Hurst, a member of the boating group, said he and others must travel great distances to do some aspects of their sport. The proposed site, if made a reality, would become a destination for boaters of all types, he said.

Hamilton said the original price tag to get the engineering work completed on the dam project was $10,000. Previous commitments from the Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist and Convention Commission and the Bardstown Boaters to each pick up a third of the tab left the city with roughly a $3,300 bill to fund the project. Hamilton told the council Tuesday the work with U of L will be less costly than a Colorado-based firm suggested early on in the discussion of the proposal. He said about $6,000 is all that will be used to fund the engineering and design plans.

“The boaters have raised even more money than they said they were going to,” Bardstown Mayor Dick Heaton said. “They have been very committed to this whole thing. We still have a promise from tourism for a third of the cost too.”

Hamilton said he wanted to make it clear the project wasn’t just a pet plan to benefit a few people. The gravel dam on Beech Fork River has eroded steadily during the decades since its construction. The ability to safely raise the level of the water in the area and provide more water is part of an overall review of the city’s system currently underway, he said.

Hamilton explained to the Council the low levels at Sympson Lake this summer due to a lack of rainfall has given the water department ample opportunity to investigate methods to improve pumping activities and increase the volume of water sent to the nearby treatment plant.

He said an intake screen has become partially obstructed with several tons of silt over the years. Hamilton suggested to the Council securing an engineer and contractor to create a concrete retaining wall tall enough around the intake area of the pumps to keep it free of debris. With more electrical capacity at the location through improvements in recent years, he said both intake pumps could work at once to give the city the ability to draw about 8.5 million gallons of water a day.

Currently one pump can bring in about three million and the other roughly six million gallons. With the partial blockage of the intake, neither is really functioning at full capacity, Hamilton said.

Tags: Whitewater Park

The Bardstown-Nelson County tourist board talked of ideas and promotions for the area including the Bardstown Whitewater Park on Tuesday September the 18th. Here is what the Kentucky Standard reported in the September 19th edition of the paper.

Proposed efforts to create a whitewater park for canoe and kayak enthusiasts near the Bardstown city dam. Although now new action has been taken by city government on the matter, the Bardstown Boaters group is still promoting the idea. Tourism chair Nicky Rapier said city officials have been receptive to the proposition as there is already a need to do some work on the spillway area.

Learn more about the Bardstown Whitewater Park

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More than $523,000 in grant money will be available to increase adventure tourism opportunities in eastern Kentucky.

The funding was announced in conjunction with results of a study showing that increased spending on adventure tourism in eastern Kentucky could bring in more than 130,000 new visitors a year, create more than 1,500 new jobs and have an estimated annual economic impact of nearly $100 million.

Download the study here: EKYAdventureTourismPlan.pdf

Community meetings have been set to discuss study and grants.

Topics will include a general overview of the study, implementation planning and grant information. For more information visit: http://www.kentuckytourism.com/krta

Tags: Whitewater Park

Charlotte Observer, April 2007, by JACK HORAN

Whitewater paddling in Western North Carolina would get a boost from a proposed run-of-the-river "whitewater park" on the Nantahala River with newly fashioned waves and rapids.

The nearly half-mile-long park would be built by Nantahala Outdoor Center and would be open to the public at no cost for playboating, training and competition. The project would rearrange a dangerous rapid filled with jagged rocks so it could be run safely.

President Sutton Bacon last week stressed the "whitewater park" wouldn't be of the same scale or purpose as the $35-million, U.S. National Whitewater Center just west of Charlotte, which opened last year.

The Charlotte park is the world's largest artificial re-circulating course with three-quarters of a mile of Class III-IV rapids that includes an Olympic-standard slalom-racing course. Rafters, canoeists and kayakers pay to paddle.

The Nantahala concept follows that of nearly 100 whitewater parks on rivers in the West and could cost about $5 million. NOC will seek economic development money. "We're at the beginning," said Bacon, who is also president of American Whitewater, a national advocacy group.

Two weeks ago, two area legislators asked the legislature to provide $50,000 for an environmental assessment "of the construction of a white-water paddle sports training and activity center."

Bacon said employee-owned NOC, which takes 130,000 customers annually in rafts down the Nantahala, has put in $25,000. The project would need an OK from the U.S. Forest Service, which regulates use of the river and which, along with NOC, owns land bordering the section.

Nantahala District ranger Mike Wilkins said the agency would require an environmental assessment that could lead to a special-use permit. "This project kind of fits what people do in the area," he said.

The dam-release river is the most popular whitewater river in the Southeast. At present, rafters and private boaters paddle a 7.5-mile stretch, finishing just below Nantahala Falls at the NOC complex.

Bob Hathcock, an NOC staffer who's managing the project, said new whitewater features for canoes and kayaks would begin just above NOC's footbridge with a designed wave. Boulders notched into place or held by grout would form the rapids.

Just below the footbridge would be a double-drop rapid with a wave, then a side channel with splash pools for wading and, in the river channel, a 4-5-foot-high wave for whitewater rodeos. In rodeos, kayakers perform cartwheels and spins, getting scored on their skills.

Farther downstream lies Wesser Falls, a Class IV rapid with jagged rocks left from a dynamiting decades ago. Hathcock said NOC would smooth out the cascade by removing the hazardous rocks and create a series of Class III, drop-and-pool rapids.

New footpaths would link the end of Wesser Falls to a new footbridge at Nantahala Falls so paddlers, carrying their kayaks, could make the run again.

Tags: Whitewater Park | Nantahala

From American Whitewater

The Friends of the Falls Association has completed its campaign to raise $225,000 for the design, permitting and construction of the Spokane Whitewater Park. The campaign reached its goal recently thanks to a donation of $40,000 from Teck Cominco American, a diversified mining company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., which has a regional office in Spokane.

In the Great Spokane River Gorge, one mile from downtown and next to the Sandifur Memorial Bridge, the Spokane Whitewater Park will feature two u-shaped structures built from large boulders. The structures enhance river access and create drops, waves and pools in the river for kayakers and other users to enjoy. The project also includes additional parking, landscaping, and a visitor center at the entry to People’s Park, which will benefit all users of the area including anglers, hikers, mountain bikers, residents of adjacent neighborhoods, and anyone using the Fish Lake and Centennial Trails.

The Whitewater Park is one of 15 priority projects in the Great Spokane River Gorge Strategic Master Plan. The Plan is inspired by the 100 year old recommendation of the Olmstead brothers that Spokane create a Great Gorge Park. A full copy of the plan is available from the organization’s web site: www.friendsofthefalls.org.Read More...

Tags: Whitewater Park

I've added an aerial picture to American Whitewater's page of the proposed whitewater park site on the Beech Fork with a link to it in the whitewater park section of this site.

The image was captured from Flash Earth using the Yahoo! Maps imagery. This image shows the location of the park in relation to downtown Bardstown.

More pictures of the rubble dam on the Beech Fork can be found on Flickr and on the water levels page.

Tags: Whitewater Park

I received an application this week for grant money being offered by Clif Bar and American Whitewater. We now have the opportunity to apply for one of two $1,250 grants. The grants will be distributed to clubs for projects that promote river stewardship, conservation, access and/or safety education on our nation’s rivers. This program provides Club Affiliates with the seed money necessary to implement programs in their backyards.

I will apply in order to seek more funds for the Bardstown Whitewater Park campaign.

You can find out more about this grant at American Whitewater.

Tags: Whitewater Park

I want to thank everyone who came out for the Texas Holdem tournament on Saturday night. It was a huge success, bringing in $800 for the Bardstown Whitewater Park fund. Better yet, we were able to spread the word for the upcoming Paddle Pickup to a whole new group of people. We'll look forward to seeing you all this June 9th at the Beech Fork.

The last two players of tournament ended up splitting the winnings when they had an even chip count.

Tags: Whitewater Park | Charity

See the different water levels at the rubble dam on the Beech Fork in this growing gallery of images. This set is being collected to aid in designing the Bardstown Whitewater Park.

Tags: Beech Fork | Whitewater Park

The Bardstown Boaters are hosting an invite only Texas Holdem charity tournament on Saturday April 14th. It is a $50 buy in. $30 goes to the pot, and $20 goes to the charity fund. The boaters are raising money to bring in an engineer to study the Beechfork River and the possibility of building a white water park there.

To participate or for more information contact Spalding Hurst or Wes Parish.

Tags: Whitewater Park | Charity

By BRETT FRENCH Of The Gazette Staff Large rocks would be placed in Yellowstone River to create waves or rapids... Billings has the opportunity to be a regional whitewater mecca if it constructs a play park in the Yellowstone River, according to a river engineer. "It would draw from across the region," said Nick Turner, with Hydraulic Design Group. "People will drive four hours to go to a play wave." Hydraulic Design Group has offered to conduct a feasibility study on a whitewater park in Billings. The price tag on the study is just more than $32,000. According to one report, as of last year there were 34 whitewater parks under construction or already built across the U.S., almost half of them in Colorado. A study by the Outdoor Industry Association said whitewater recreation is one of the fastest-growing outdoor recreation activities in the United States.

Other cities have seen substantial economic gain from developing river play areas. Turner said a study by Golden, Colo., estimated the town's water park added $2 million a year to city coffers. Turner also said creating a whitewater park brings more people to the river, saying one study estimated there were 12 visitors for every paddler. "It's a place for people to come down and experience the river," he said. "These types of recreation enhancements on rivers throughout the U.S. really improve quality of life. They bring people to the river. By introducing more people to the river, it creates more river stewards." The water features are typically made by strategically locating large rocks in the river to create waves or rapids. Any design would include room for passage by other river users, such as drift boats and jet boats, Turner said. An added benefit of such features is that they naturally create holding pools and eddies for fish. He also noted that the opportunity exists to tie such a Billings facility into current events, such as the annual Peaks to Prairie race and the Big Sky State Games.

Published on Saturday, March 10, 2007.Read More...

Tags: Whitewater Park

A new feature has been added to the Whitewater Park section of the website. It is the timeline for the Whitewater Park outlining the progress that has been made and bringing you update on where we are with the park.

Timeline for the
Bardstown Whitewater Park

Tags: Whitewater Park

From The Kentucky Standard

Bardstown will have a new city engineer and Larry Hamilton will have a new job but in both cases, the newness is only skin-deep. Hamilton will start work Thursday as the new city engineer, a position he had until 1998 when he retired after 25 years with the city government. Hamilton first joined the city in 1973 as an assistant city engineer under R.A. Kelly. He was promoted in January 1977 after Kelly retired. After retiring himself, Hamilton continued to work for several years as a consultant to the city before accepting a job in 2003 with the state Division of Solid Waste. A Bardstown native, Hamilton still resides in the city. “When (Mayor Dick Heaton) called and discussed what he had in mind, I wanted to help him with his plans,” Hamilton said. “I wanted to work with the mayor and help him accomplish what he wants to achieve.” “Working with (the mayor) will be challenging and fun and I’m looking forward to that,” Hamilton said. As city engineer, Hamilton will be in charge of the city Public Works and Utilities departments, and will report directly to Heaton. Those departments cover electric, cable, Internet, streets, sewer and water concerns. Heaton said he thought during his tenure on City Council the city needed “more in-house engineering assets,” and decided to move on that immediately when he became mayor this month.

When Hamilton last worked for the city there were three experienced engineers on staff, Heaton said. When he retired, the city chose not to fill the position he vacated. Hamilton, a certified professional engineer, carries a higher level of classification than the other two engineers on the city staff. Jeff Mills is a certified electrical engineer and George Greenwell is a civil engineer. “That forced us to take more engineering to outside firms,” Heaton said. “I feel like we will be able to save enough, by reducing outside contracting” in utility and public works jobs to recoup additional salary expenses, Heaton said. “It will create more efficiency with more engineering personnel on staff,” Heaton said. In the eight years after Hamilton left the city, “we’ve done nothing but grow,” Heaton said, adding “miles and miles of infrastructure.” During those years the city built a new waste treatment plant and expanded the water treatment plant, while also losing longtime waste treatment plant operator Jerry Riley, who died last year. That position has not yet been filled. Hamilton “has a strong working knowledge of both of those facilities,” Heaton said. “I’m going to feel comfortable with someone with Larry’s background and experience.” Heaton said he discussed his plans with the Council before deciding to offer Hamilton the job. “I’m looking forward to getting back,” Hamilton said. “I don’t have an agenda other than learning what the mayor and the City Council have on their minds and working on that.” Tom Dekle can be reached at 348-9003 Ext. 118 or by e-mail at tdekle@kystandard.com.

Tags: Whitewater Park

Apparently Kentucky is loaded. On Thursday, November 2, 2006 Governor Ernie Fletcher announced that General Fund revenue for the current fiscal year is coming in higher than originally projected and is expected to exceed budgeted levels at the end of the fiscal year.

The current estimate anticipates an extra $279 million. So, how should we spend it? I know how I would spend it.


Take The Survey
The last day to participate in the survey is January 25, 2006

Tags: Whitewater Park

See what's happening right this moment down at the Truckee River Whitewater Park in Reno, Nevada.

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From the Friday, December 15, 2006 Kentucky Standard

By Bob White

Bardstown will send a representative to Elizabethtown Thursday to learn more about grants to aid the Beech Fork whitewater park project and trail projects being considered for implementation.

During Tuesday's Bardstown City Council meeting City Administrator Larry Green informed city leaders of two federal grants being offered through the Governor's Office of Local Development.

The funds being offered could be used to improve the riverbank of Beech Fork at the old rock dam near U.U. 31E bridge where a whitewater feature has been proposed.

"It won't help with the rebuilding of the dam, but it may be useful in building a trail to the river," Green said.

Green said funding could also be used for a connector trail between Beech Fork and Bardstown Community Park.

More information about the Land and Water Conservation Funds and the Recreational Trails grants will be learned during a Thursday meeting at the Lincoln Trail Area Development District office in Elizabethtown, Green said.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund offers 50-50 matching grants of $5,000 to $50,000. The average amount awarded to applicant communities in Kentucky last year was $39,951, according to Samantha Cool, Public Information Officer for the Governor's Office of Local Development.Read More...

Tags: Whitewater Park

Some information has surfaced on one of two grants that have been discovered by Assistant City Administrator, Larry Green, which could be applied to the Bardstown Whitewater Park.Read More...

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Bardstown's most outspoken proponent for outdoor recreational and environmental causes is moving on to a sister newspaper in Elizabethtown. Bob White has covered the Bardstown Boaters greatest accomplishments over the past 2 years in our local press, and in doing so has helped us grow our efforts more than we ever could have imagined.Read More...

Tags: Membership | Whitewater Park

We are getting close to our goal of raising $2200 so the process of getting a site assessment for the Beech Fork Bardstown Whitewater Park can begin. To find out more visit the Whitewater Park page.Read More...

Tags: Whitewater Park | Donate

From Paddler Magazine May/June 2005

Human beings are tinkerers. When something doesn’t fit our needs, it’s our nature to change it.

Whitewater paddlers are no different. And whitewater—in the form of man-made whitewater parks—is springing up in towns and cities across the nation, creating a new wave of whitewater enthusiasm in the most unlikely of places: downtown. People who would otherwise never be exposed to whitewater now find it right in their front yard.Read More...

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The disappointment in the paddling community was thick last week when a study found the proposed white-water park on the Great Miami River was too expensive.

The Miami Conservancy District and Five Rivers MetroParks wanted to build a white-water play facility that would also give less experienced paddlers a safe way to get around the low dam near the Monument Avenue bridge.

But the study found the park cost would total close to $10 million. That was too much, the agencies decided, and the proposal has been scrapped.Read More...

Tags: Whitewater Park

Bardstown Boaters, a group of local whitewater enthusiasts, first proposed the project and have since compiled a preliminary informational package for local officials to review.Read More...

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Bardstown Mayor
• Dick Heaton - 1,528 Votes - 55%
Dixie Hibbs - 1,130 Votes - 40%
Steven Wimsatt - 152 Votes - 5%Read More...

Tags: Whitewater Park

This whitewater park is set to open the Spring of 2007 on the summit of Marsh Mountain in McHenry, Maryland. McHenry is 3 hours from the Washington, DC area, 2 hours from Pittsburgh, and within a 3 hour drive for over 26 million people.Read More...

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