North Fork Clearwater River

Evidence strength mostly comes down to three things: how direct the active gauge is, how clear the range is, and how fresh the data is.

These are the live readings and threshold notes behind today's score.

These notes cover the access details, route quirks, and source caveats most likely to matter once you get there.

• Official route corridorWashington Creek Campground to Quartz Creek Access; About 11 river miles

  American Whitewater North Fork Clearwater Kelly Creek-to-Aquarius reach record identifies the endpoint chain, river miles, or managed float corridor.

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• Public access controlWashington Creek Campground bridge access to Quartz Creek bridge / Forest Road 247 mile 32

  Coordinates represent named public ramps, bank launches, park landings, or an explicitly described staging point.

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• Defensible proxy gaugeUSGS 13340600 - North Fork Clearwater River near Canyon Ranger Station, ID (downstream proxy)

  Gauge is downstream on the same river system and must not be treated as a local measurement.

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• Threshold postureNumeric cue retained for planning

  The route remains planning-only; no live go/no-go score is asserted.

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• Safety and land managementCurrent manager notices override this record

  American Whitewater rates the Lower Bungalow Run Class III+(V); scout the sequence from Forest Road 247 and stop before Irish Railroad unless the crew is specifically prepared for that feature. Use the American Whitewater 2,500-16,000 cfs corridor band as proxy planning guidance on USGS 13340600. The broad range is not a local reach guarantee; wood, trend, and visual scouting override any numeric score. Washington Creek is a named campground bridge access. Quartz Creek is a traditional access but AW describes the carry as cumbersome and North Idaho Rivers warns that take-out access for inflatables is poor; verify boat type, landing, parking, and current road status before launch.

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• Camping classificationendpoint_campground

  Washington Creek Campground is the named endpoint campground. Quartz Creek has dispersed camping near the bridge, but do not assume a developed take-out camp or potable water; verify Forest Service rules and current conditions.

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• Image decisionClearwater watershed context photograph; not a Quartz endpoint image

  Approved route-area or same-river context; it does not depict every endpoint or current conditions.

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• Overlap decisionRetained as a distinct access-to-access itinerary

  Adjacent cards use different public endpoints and provide a different trip length, hazard set, skill tier, or operating boundary.

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Use these links to double-check the gauge, route details, and access notes before you head out.

• American Whitewater North Fork Clearwater Kelly Creek-to-Aquarius reach record
• Official access/map control
• USGS 13340600 monitoring location
• USGS 13340600 current conditions
• Additional threshold support
• American Whitewater North Fork Clearwater section and access chain
• North Idaho Rivers North Fork access warning
• USGS North Fork Clearwater Canyon Ranger Station gauge
• Washington Creek Campground map
• Quartz Creek map / bridge locality
• Clearwater National Forest recreation corridor
• Clearwater watershed context photograph; not a Quartz endpoint image
• Idaho boating and invasive-species requirements