RICKA trip on the Knightville section of the Westfield - April 19, 2025

Group picture for the Jim O'Brien Memorial

In 2010, well-known local paddler Jim O'Brien died in a tragic boating accident on Hubbard Brook. Each year, his friends organize a memorial paddle in his memory on his home river – the Knightville section of the Westfield. Its dam-controlled so there is always water, and there is always a big crowd. It is the bumper-boats of whitewater paddling, and Paul posted a trip on the RICKA Whitewater Message Board.

The Westfield River arises in the Berkshires and flows generally southeast for 78 miles to its confluence with the Connecticut River in Agawam. The river has lots of great whitewater paddling on three branches that join in Huntington to form the main stem - the North Branch (sometimes called the East Branch) that includes Pork Barrel, the Middle Branch, and the West Branch that includes Knightville.

Paul and I heading down

This is also the weekend of the Westfield River Wildwater Race, so there is a big crowd along the river as well. As I was bringing my boat up to the put-in I saw racers coming down the expert course, and saw Rick at the finish line at the gazebo. 

After dropping my boat up at the dam, I drove back to the parking lot at the Huntington Health Center and waited for Aaron to pick up for a ride back to the put-in. We got into the group picture before heading out with the rest of the crew. We had a mixed group (2 canoes and 2 kayaks) and first-time runs for Aaron and Logan. The river was at nice level 5-feet, 1,100 cfs – a typical dam release level. 

Aaron running the Gorge Drop

The run is mostly class II rock dodging until you get to the Gorge in the Gardner State Park. We had one swim on the top half, but after a quick rescue we were back on our way. The Gorge Drop is a 3-foot ledge to the right of a large jumble of rocks. The easiest line is just to the right of the rocks. From there you can either catch the eddy behind the rocks, or ride the haystack waves downstream.

I went through first and caught the eddy behind the rocks. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my camera out in time to catch Paul and Logan coming through, but I did catch Aaron. From the Gorge Drop down to the take-out is quickwater and more class II rock-dodging. Here's my edit from Aaron's helmet camera video.

Links:
My Pictures

Aaron's Video

Knightville Gage

Jim O’Brien Memorial Paddle - April 23, 2023

Paul running the Gorge Drop

In 2010, well-known local paddler Jim O'Brien died in a tragic boating accident on Hubbard Brook. Other than Gordon McKinney, the RICKA paddler who died on Esopus Creek in 1992, this is the only death of a local whitewater paddler that I am aware of in my time paddling. Each year, Jim's friends organize a memorial paddle for him on his home river – the Westfield in western MA. It’s a nice section of the river – Knightville Dam to Huntington, its dam-controlled so there is always water, and there is always a HUGE crowd. It is the bumper-boats of whitewater paddling, and I always make it if I can.

The Westfield River arises in the Berkshires and flows generally southeast for 78 miles to its confluence with the Connecticut River in Agawam. The river has lots of great whitewater paddling on three branches that join in Huntington to form the main stem - the North Branch (sometimes called the East Branch) that includes Pork Barrel, the Middle Branch, and the West Branch that includes Knightville. Several sections of the river have received national Wild & Scenic River designation.

Running the Gorge Drop

This was also the weekend of the Westfield River Wildwater Race, so we knew there would be a big crowd on the river. The race started in the morning, so I dropped off Paul and the boats at the dam at around 10:00 and headed back to the gazebo to meet the rest of the group for the shuttle. I was back at the dam at 12:00 for the group picture. The river was at 4.75 feet, 1,000 cfs – a typical dam release level. The run is mostly class II rock dodging until you get to the Gorge in the Gardner State Park.

The Gorge Drop is the main feature on this section of the river. It is a 3-foot ledge to the right of a large jumble of rocks. The easiest line is just to the right of the rocks. From there you can either catch the eddy behind the rocks, or ride the haystack waves downstream. I usually try to catch the eddy so I can climb up on the rocks and get some pictures of other folks coming through.  

In the eddy below the rocks

As I came over the crest this time I noticed three kayakers sitting in the eddy below waiting to surf the wave at the bottom of the shoot. My line was set, so in I went. I bumped into two of them and pushed one out the other side. Open boaters call that eddy clearing, and I did a pretty good job. They were OK with it, and I quickly got out of their way to take some pictures. 

From the Gorge Drop down to the take-out is quickwater and more class II rock-dodging. We usually stop at the Hill and Dale rapid on the way home to catch the carnage from the downriver race, but with the earlier start time, we missed it this year. Fun day, great community - just wish the get together was for a different reason.

Group picture at the put-in

Links:
My Pictures
Knightville Gage
River Description from American Whitewater
Westfield River Watershed Association

Knightville Section of the Westfield - July 10, 2021

Heading out

It takes a lot of rain to get the local whitewater rivers up to a decent level in the summer, and we had it this week. Evening thunderstorms saturated the ground, then Tropical Storm Elsa rolled through on Friday dumping 4-5 inches of rain in many parts of southern New England. I decided to join Paul D. for a trip in the Knightville section of the Westfield. 

The Westfield River arises in the Berkshires and flows generally southeast for 78 miles to its confluence with the Connecticut River in Agawam. The river has three main branches that join in Huntington to form the main stem - the North Branch (sometimes called the East Branch) including Pork Barrel; the Middle Branch; and the West Branch that includes the section we would be paddling today below the Knightville Dam. 

Eric and Amy

The road up to the dam was closed, so we put in at the gate and took out at the Gazebo on Route 20. The river was at a nice level starting around 1400 cfs, but dropping to around 1200 cfs before we finished. The river is mostly class II/II+ rock-dodging until you enter the Gorge in the Gardner State Park. 

There are two drops in the Gorge section. The first is an unnamed rapid that is about 25 yards long that I ran to the right. The second is a 3-foot ledge known as the Gorge Drop. It can be seen from upstream by a big rock in the middle of the river. You run this just to the right of the rock, and move left to catch the eddy, or at least avoid the big haystacks downstream.  From the Gorge Drop down to the take out there is more rock-dodging. The run took about 2 hours at a leisurely pace.

 
Gorge Drop on the Knightville section of the Westfield from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures

Knightville Gage

Knightville section of the Westfield – April 21, 2018

Lined up and ready to race

I’m an early riser, so I prefer trips that start early, and I tend to get there early. The annual Jim O'Brien Memorial Paddle on the Knightville section of the Westfield fits the bill since we need to get on the river early to beat the racers. 

Paul and I arrived at the take-out around 8:30 and had some time to kill before the 10:00 shuttle, so we stopped to check out the Westfield River Wildwater Race. According to the website, this is the oldest consecutively run canoe race in the US. The novice race puts in on the Middle Branch in Huntington, and the "pro" race starts below the dam on the North Branch. It was nice to see so many canoes out on the river, even if many of them were paddled with double blades.

View of the River from the Knightville Dam

From there, we decided to check out the Knightville Dam and Reservoir. The dam is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers and includes 2,400 acres of undeveloped flood control land. After hiking down to the reservoir, we drove over to the dam itself, which gave us a great view of the river below.

At 9:30, we pulled into the picnic area below the dam to unload our boats and change in our paddling gear. A small group had started to gather as I headed out to run the shuttle. The Jim O'Brien Memorial Paddle is an annual trip in memory of a local boater who died seven years ago in a tragic whitewater accident. The level was about 5’, 1,100 cfs – a typical dam release level. The river is mostly class II rock dodging until you enter the Gorge in the Gardner State Park.

Paul Running the Gorge Drop

There are two drops in the Gorge section. The first is an unnamed rapid that is about 25 yards long that I ran to the right. The second is a 3-foot ledge known as the Gorge Drop. It can be seen from upstream by a big rock in the middle of the river. You run this just to the right of the rock, and move left to catch the eddy, or at least avoid the big haystacks downstream.

From the Gorge Drop down to the take out there are some rock gardens with a nice surf wave below the Route 112 Bridge. The run took about 2 hours at a leisurely pace.  

Surfing below the Worthington Road (Route 112) Bridge

Links:

My Pictures

Knightville Gage

Westfield River Wildwater Race

Army Corps of Engineers - Knightville Dam Gage

River Description - American Whitewater

Outnumbered again – Knghtville section of the Westfield – April 16, 2016

Jim O'Brien Memorial Paddle Group Photo

I got together with Dan, Pat, Paul and Andy to run the Knightville section of the Westfield for the Jim O'Brien Memorial Paddle. This is an annual trip in memory of a local boater who died six years ago in a tragic whitewater accident. Once again, the open boaters were significantly outnumbered on this trip – 34 kayaks to 3 canoes. Still, it’s a fun class II/III run, and I’ll paddle with the yakkers if I have to.

The level was about 5’, 1,000 cfs. – a typical dam release level. We put in at the picnic area at the base of the Knightville Dam, and took out at the Gazebo on Route 20. The river is mostly class II rock dodging until you enter the Gorge in the Gardner State Park.

Dan approaching the Gorge Drop

There are two drops in the Gorge section. The first is an unnamed rapid that is about 25 yards long that I ran to the right (there is also a trickier shoot to the left that I ran a few years ago with Glenn). The second is a 3-foot ledge known as the Gorge Drop. It can be seen from upstream by a big rock in the middle of the river. You run this just to the right of the rock, and move left to catch the eddy, or at least avoid the big haystacks downstream.

From the Gorge Drop down to the take out there are some nice rock gardens separated by sections of quickwater.  Run took about 2 hours at a leisurely pace.  No swims to report.

Racers swimming the Hill & Dale Rapid

The good news is that there were plenty of canoes on the river (mostly tandems) for the Westfield River WildwaterRace. Supposedly, this is the oldest consecutively run canoe race in the US.  On the way home we stopped at a rapid called Hill & Dale on the novice course to see some of the carnage – we weren’t disappointed.  A pinned canoe in the middle of the river told us that the safety boats had been busy.  We saw about 10 boats come through in 15 minutes, and half of them dumped, and there were plenty of gunwale grabs on the rest. 

At the put-in - photo by Paddler Shawn

Links:

My Pictures

Westfield River Wildcatter Race

Knightville Gage

Knightville section from American Whitewater

Jim O'Brien Memorial Paddle - April 18, 2015

Gathering round the play wave

Other than missing the exit and driving 25 miles out of our way (50 miles round trip), we had a great day on the Knightville section of the Westfield. Just for future reference, the directions to Knightville are:

1. Take exit 3 off the Mass Pike
2. Turn right on Route 10/202 south toward Westfield
3. Turn right on Route 20 west

It couldn’t be easier - not sure how I screwed it up.

Paul runs the Gorge Drop

Anyway, Paul, Andy and I headed out to the Westfield for the Jim O'Brien Memorial Paddle. The river was at a nice level – 1,000 cfs. Much higher and it starts to wash out.  Much lower and it starts to get boney. 

We put in at the picnic area at the base of the Knightville Dam, and took out at the Gazebo on Route 20. The river is mostly class II/II+ rock dodging until you enter the Gorge in the Gardner State Park.

Surfing below the bridge

There are two drops in the Gorge section. The first is about 25 yards long that I ran to the right (there is also a trickier shoot to the left that I ran last year with Glenn). The second is a 4-foot ledge known as the Gorge Drop. It can be seen from upstream by a big rock in the middle of the river. You run this just to the right of the rock, and move left to catch the eddy, or at least avoid the big haystacks downstream.

From the Gorge Drop down to the take out there are some nice rock gardens separated by sections of quickwater.  Run took about 2 hours at a leisurely pace.  No swims to report.  Definitely a good day.

Knightville Gorge Drop from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Links:

My Pictures

Knightville Gage

Jim O'Brien Memorial Paddle - March 29, 2014

Group picture at the put-in

I didn’t know Jim O’Brien, but I knew of him.  His boating skills were well above mine, so we rarely crossed paths on the river, but he was a friend to many.  It is a great testament to him that his friends still gather to remember him four years after his tragic accident.

About forty-five boaters (including Andy, Duke, Mike and me) gathered on the Knightville section of the Westfield for the Jim O’Brien Memorial Paddle.  It was a dam release weekend, and the river was running between 600 and 700 cfs. – a surprisingly fluid level. When Glenn Stewart offered to bring his Perception Revolution, I jumped at the opportunity to paddle it with him. 

Stand-up paddling the Revolution

The Revolution is described in old Perception marketing materials as a cataraft that can bring whitewater paddling to anyone.  It is simple to paddle, spins on a dime and is amazingly stable.  It is maneuvered with only two strokes – forward and backward.

After a group picture at the put-in, we began our trek downstream.  The Revolution glided over and around rocks, and rode waves easily.  As long as you keep the boat running straight downstream, about the only thing that you can do wrong is get a rock stuck between the pontoons.  It’s a lot of fun to paddle.

Andy running the Gorge Drop

As we entered the Gorge section I was surprised to see ice ledges lining the river.  There are two significant drops in the Gorge section.  The first has easy haystacks on river right, and a narrow tricky shoot on river left.  Glenn and I decided to take the route on river left.  The river funnels between a mid-stream rock and the bank.  We made it down the drop only to get pushed into the bank at the bottom.  Fortunately, the ice ledge at the bottom was not particularly large, but I still ended up with a nasty bruise on my leg. 

The second drop in this section is known as the Gorge Drop.  The river is divided in the middle by a large rock.  The route is to run just right of the rock, catching the eddy at the bottom if possible, or at least moving left to avoid the large haystacks downstream.  Glenn and I nailed it, and pulled into the eddy to get some pictures of the rest of the crew coming through. Hopefully I’ll get to paddle the Revolution again this summer with Glenn on the Dryway. 

Duke surfing in the Gorge Drop

Links:

My Pictures

Mike’s Video

Ed’s Video

Knightville Gage

Knightville - December 23, 2012

Had a good time yesterday on the Knightville section of the Westfield with Andy and a group from Where’s the Whitewater at?  Nine boats – 8 kayaks and one canoe – I was definitely outnumbered.

The river was at about 2,000 cfs which was higher than I had ever run it.  I had done it twice before at 1,000 cfs which is a nice level with a bit a rock dodging.  At 2,000 cfs the rocks are gone except for the ones that cause large holes and pour-overs.  It was a lot of fun - once I figured out not to follow the kids that aim for the rocks and pour-overs. 

The major feature on this section of the river is the Gorge Drop.  It’s about a 3’ drop with a rock in the middle.  Generally it is run just right of the rock.  At yesterday’s level, most people ran it just left of the rock.  A nice shoot formed making it easy to catch the downstream eddy.  The far left line which avoids the drop all together was also runnable. 

There are usually some nice playspots downstream of the Gorge Drop at the rock garden and bridge, but they were pretty much washed out yesterday.  Run took about 3 hours at a leisurely pace.  No swims to report.  Definitely a good day.

Links

My Pictures

Knightville Gage

Knightville Section of the Westfield - May 22, 2011

Finally got my new boat out yesterday on the Knightvlle section of the Westfield River. This section has it all - class II/III rapids to get the blood pumping, quickwater in between when you need to take a break, and nice scenery in the Gardner State Park. I did the trip yesterday with a group from NPMB - 12 kayaks, 1 canoe. River was running between 900 and 1,000 cfs which is a normal release level.

We put in at the picnic area at the base of the Knightville Dam, and took out at the gazebo on Route 20. The river was mostly class II rock dodging until we entered the gorge in the Gardner State Park. There are two gorge drops in this section. The first is about 25 yards long that I ran to the right. The second is a 4 foot ledge known as the Gorge Drop. It can be seen from upstream by a big rock in the middle of the river. I ran this just to the right of the rock, and moved left to avoid the huge haystacks below. From the Gorge drop down to the take out there are some nice rock gardens separated by sections of quickwater.

My new boat felt a little twitchy at first, but I got use to it. No pictures - my camera is being repaired :-(

The river I didn’t paddle last weekend - Knightville and Pork Barrel on the Westfield

Last Saturday I paddled the Lower Ash, but the Westfield was also on my list of places to go. I had done the Knightville section of the Westfield with Robin and Scott last spring at a release level (1,000 cfs. on the Knightville gage). Robin ran it again Saturday at 1,700 cfs. She said it was a lot of fun and that the gorge drop was easier at that higher level. According to Rob, 700 is low, but doable.   Its OK at 1,000 to 1,500.

On Friday, the Pork Barrel section was also running, and Ed “Brewbeer” was able to catch it . Here’s how he described it:

The river was described by someone on NPMB as “high medium”, but let me tell you, it was big and full to the banks. It was fast, pushy, continuous, and once the Swift River came in, huge. Enormous wave trains, very much like the West. No exposed rocks in the river, no eddies except an occasional one at the side of the river, also like the West. There were pourovers into big holes just about everywhere. It ran through an isolated, roadless, and undeveloped valley. There were frequent waterfalls along the sides. I managed to keep the open end up and me in the boat for the whole run, but I had to run the pump frequently - almost as much as on the West. All in all, it was an awesome run. I'm really looking forward to doing it again.

Pork Barrel is tough to catch. One guy said that Pork Barrel is at a medium level when New Boston is above 5’.  The INFLOW at Knightville Dam is probably a better indicator. When its above 1,500 its runnable; when its 2,000 to 2,500 its fun with some class III. Ed ran it at 3,300. The link is below:

https://reservoircontrol.usace.army.mil/nae_ords/cwmsweb/cwms_realtime.ProjectPage?gagecode=KVD

Westfield River Whitwater Race - April 17th

I knew if I was going to paddle this weekend that it would have to be today, and it would have to be early. I didn’t think it would happen since the weather was supposed to be terrible, and my usual paddling buds aren’t early risers. Then I saw a post on one of our local paddling boards that the group that does safety at the Westfield River Whitewater Race was doing an early run on the Westfield - perfect.

I got up at that crack of dawn and headed out for the two-hour drive to the river.  I got to the put-in around 7:30, and we were paddling by 8:00. Since I was the only open boater in the group, I figured that I better try of make a good first impression. I ferry out into the river, but didn't get 20' from shore when I hit a rock and took a swim. I was in the water before half the group even launched. Fortunately, it got better from there – it was my only swim of the day.

This was my first run on the Westfield, and I have to say that its beautiful river. The section that we did - Knightville Dam to Huntington - was mostly class II with a couple of class III rapids. There’s only one drop of any consequence – about 3’ with a couple of HUGE standing waves below it. On that rapid, I came down through the drop and bounced off the first wave right into a big eddy on river left – just like I knew what I was doing. The rest of the river is mostly waves trains and rock gardens – good time.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera in the car, so the only pictures that I got were of the racers coming through the Hill and Dale Rapid after our paddle. Most of the racers were pretty good – not as many yahoos as I expected.  The gage at Knightville was 5 ft., 1,000 cfs.



Links:
My Pictures of Racers at the Hill and Dale Rapid
River description from Amarican Whitewater