River camping in the Pennsylvania Wilds on the Clarion River: 3-day / 2-night 30-mile paddling trip

Located in the Pennsylvania Wilds in the northwest corner of the state, the Clarion River meanders thru more than 115 miles of narrow serpentine valleys and hardwood forests.

The Clarion has won Pennsylvania's River of the Year 4 times since 1983, with its last win in 2019.

Considered a Class 1 River, with the best time to paddle is in the Spring and early Summer.

It’s Memorial Weekend 2024 and we are paddling 30 miles of the Clarion River on a 3-day/2-night adventure.

After a challenging overnight paddle in 2021, we were determined to give the Clarion another shot on our boards. In 2021 we didn’t account for the low water levels towards the end of the season. And frankly we were just getting into river camping on our boards. It sure was an adventure - we got stuck on the rocks in the “z” rapid, lost fins which makes steering difficult, had a massive, unexpected thunderstorm force us off the river only a few miles from our end & we had a bear at our camp.

This trip offered plenty of fulfillment along with new challenges. Water level was higher but still had us on our knees paddling most of the 3 days - ouch! And a 3-hour storm forced us off the river again. Instead of frightening animals at camp, this time we were shocked by the volume of people on the river especially in the Cook Forest area where all of the outfitters are located. We met fellow paddlers, enjoyed interesting chats about other adventures and were offered a place to camp if the campground wasn’t available.

Our Trip:
Day 1 - Launched from Irwin Run Canoe Launch and paddled about 6 miles to camp. Mostly calm section of river.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/qVfPhNmvhucSh...

Day 2 - Launched from our campsite and paddled about 10 miles to the canoe-in tent spots at Clear Creek State Park. River is mixed with ripples, large rocks, and also stretches of calm waters.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DLzHqmprq3QGv...

Day 3 - Launched from our campsite and paddled just over 14 miles thru Cook Forest to our takeout at Gravel Lick. Be prepared on the weekends to experience large crowds of people in the Cook Forest Area around Cooksburg. The final few miles before Gravel Lick are remote.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/oZa9empEdGKAA...

Water Level for our trip was around 3.3 feet at Cooksburg gage.
Air Temp - high 80’s during the day, high 60's at night

Our Suggestions:
Water Levels - Check before paddling based on your skill and vessel. Water level is often well below 3 feet and if so expect to have to get out and walk your boat. While we have no association with them, the Pale Whale outfitter has been an amazing resource to us. They post daily on Facebook with updates on water levels and temps. Prepare for a variety of water conditions, rocks, boulders, ripples and calm depending on area you paddle.

The Clarion River Map Water Trail Guide states the optimal river level at the Cooksburg USGS gage is between 2.5 - 4 .5 feet with the lower limit at 2 feet for the Clarington to Cooksburg section.

Crowds - paddling around the Cooksburg area was very crowded. Bring your own gear and pick a different section of river if you want less crowds or skip the weekends.

Camping - most of the campsites we passed are also accessible via River Road which makes for difficultly in securing a first-come spot from the water. We passed many large, beautiful primitive spots along the way to possibly camp at, but they were all taken. We found this challenging and disappointing when planning a river camping adventure.

Link to Water Trail Guide and Maps:
http://waterlandlife.org/assets/crwtm...

Our paddle boards:
Evolve - 10’6” Inflatable boom boom series purchased in 2017. https://evolveboards.com/
Funwater - 10’6” Inflatable Tiki purchased in 2020 - https://www.funwaterboard.com/collect...

#standuppaddle
#canoe
#kayak
#clarionriver
#camping
#rivercamping
#clearcreekstateforest
#evolvepaddleboards
#funwaterpaddleboards
#PaWilds
#cookforest



Video Contents:
00:00 - 01:05 Irwin Boat Launch
01:05 - 03:21 Trip Intro and Overview
03:21 - 03:44 Hallton Canoe Launch
03:44 - 04:33 Hallton Hilton
04:33: - 08:03 Looking for a campsite
08:03 - 10:24 Day 2 Morning/where we camped
10:24 - 11:48 Stuck on the rocks
11:48 - 12:33 Campsites around mile-marker 72
12:33 - 15:30 Day 2 Paddle
15:30 - 17:34 Pine Rapid
17:34 - 18:49 Robins Island Campsites
18:49 - 20:50 Heath Canoe Launch
20:50 - 24:38 Belltown Rapid/stuck on the rocks
24:38 - 25:30 Millstone Campsites
25:30 - 28:53 Millstone Canoe Launch/Waiting out the storms
28:53 - 34:33 Clear Creek SP Canoe sites/home for night 2
34:33 - 37:54 Day 3 Paddle
37:54 - 39:20 Barnett Canoe Launch
39:20 - 40:09 Cook Forest Canoe Launch
40:09 - 41:12 Lunch Break
41:12 - 43:48 Cook Forest State Park
43:48 - 44:25 Cooksburg Canoe Launch
44:25 - 47:48 Final Stretch
47:48 - 49:45 Gravel Lick Canoe Launch