| Description: Hidden away just more
than a mile
below the Glen Avon Bridge, there is a man made ledge at a bend in
the river that generates a large standing wave through a wide range
of water levels during the rainy season. It is amazing what a few well placed boulders can
create. The Rock Pile is in through the widest range of water levels
of any of the play spots on the Molalla. This wave-hole lets you
cartwheel and blunt and spin but nothing you do here will feel as
fluid as it does at other local holes where the water is aerated.
None the less this is another place to surf close to Portland. When you are surfing here try
and be quiet and keep yourself in the water or on the river banks.
This ledge is literally in someone's front yard. |
| Eddy Service: There is a decent eddy
but thin
on river-right behind the wave.
However if you take a hard flush on the outside of the feature you
may miss the eddy and have to carry your boat up from the next eddy
downstream. |
| Water Levels:
Keep in mind that the
gauge on the Molalla is located many miles down river in Canby close
to the Willamette. The Molalla is a small drainage prone to rapid
fluctuations during and after rain and/or snowmelt events. The water
levels that the gauge indicates may lag significantly behind what
the actual water level is on the upper river. Checking the visual
gauge on the downstream side of the bridge of Feyrer Park might be a
good idea to make sure that you won't be wasting your time. A
reading of much higher than
a few ticks below
six feet on the gauge will be too high for the Rock Pile.
2500 cfs: The rockpile is there but it
is shallow pour-over hole with a small green shoulder.
3500-4500 cfs: The wave is there and
well formed . Skilled paddlers can get
some large blunts and carthwheels.
above 6000 cfs:
The wave greens out and starts to gradually disappear.
|
| Gauge: Molalla River at Canby, more
than 25 miles downstream of the wave. |
| Season: October to May, during or
after periods of heavy rain or snow melt |
| Difficulty: Intermediate with a
strong roll, on up. Green paddlers might miss the eddy frequently
and have a hard time punching onto the wave. |
| Driving Directions: Make your way to
the East Side of Molalla along Oregon Highway 211. Follow the signs
to Feyrer Park. Cross the Bridge at Feyrer Park and drive upstream
(about 4.7 miles) until you get the next public bridge across the
Molalla. This Bridge is the Glen Avon Bridge. About a quarter mile
upstream the Glen Avon Bridge is a reasonably good put-in. The
Corner Wave is just over a mile downstream of bridge and there is a
take-out 1.7 miles downstream of the bridge at an undeveloped day-use
area. |
| Closest Town: Molalla, Oregon |
| Closest Services: If you need gas,
food or anything else Molalla is only 10 to 15 minutes away. |
| Other Local Attractions if the play isn't
in: Do one on the runs on the Molalla River or go sky diving at
the air field near Molalla. |
| Closest Camping: Once you have
crossed the Molalla River at the Glen Avon Bridge there are numerous
developed and undeveloped campsites in the Molalla River Recreation
Area to chose from. |
| Local's Tips: At the pour-over hole
levels for the Rock Pile there is a nice Wave Hole just upstream
called the Much Love Hole that you will find to be a much more fun
place to play. |
| Local Kayak Shops: Alder Creek and
Next Adventure are the shops to hit in Portland. |
