Provo River - Bridal Veil (BV)

Description

This run goes through the heart of Provo Canyon with the crux of it near where the old Bridal Veil gondola used to run.  Most of the river can be scouted from the road or the bike/run path that follows the river throughout the canyon.

This run would be an overall class III run at all flows if it weren't for the bridal veil drop.  Because of wood and the S-Turn nature of the river here the bridal veil drop is a class IV because of must make moves around fallen trees from both sides of the river.  For boaters not ready for this, it is easy to portage or you could simply put on below this section and ride the waves down to the dam.

At higher flows this is a fun rowdy stomp down the canyon with few eddies.  The continuous nature of the water and rocky shallow sections can make swimming here to be unfavorable.  For the most fun look at hitting it around flows of 1000 CFS or higher.

Very beginner kayakers should look at running other rivers or stretches until they can get a solid brace and roll underneath them.

Note: Olmstead dam diverts water at the putin to the mouth of the canyon.  This means that the BELOW DEER CREEK gauge is an estimate.  If you take 300 to 400 CFS out that is a guide to what is actually flowing in the Bridal Veil section.  The current flow formula reflects the estimated diversion.