This is a very short run. On the plus side, it holds water very well and runs when other rivers around have dried up, and you can hop off at the end and quickly walk back to the start.
On most levels it can be a bit scrapey, but the rapids still go. There are two main rapids.
From the put in, it is about 300m to the first rapid under the bridge. This is grade 2 water.
There is a small siphon on extreme river left under the bridge. It would be difficult to put your boat into this, but it is worth identifying in case of a swim upstream of it.
There are a few small holes on the lead in to the 1.5m drop that could slow you down a bit. On higher water levels the hole at the bottom of the drop becomes more sticky and needs to be boofed. There is a pool after this.
About 100m downstream through some small rapids and overhanging trees, there is a 3m slide. There is a channel cut through the rock slab that runs river left to right, and this gives the most fun route down. On higher water levels the water runs over the whole slab, and any line can be chosen.
From here, the take out is about 100m downstream on river left.
- Siphon river-left under the metal bridge
- In high water very large stopper forms under bridge making passage unlikely without boat or body (or both) striking bridge.
- Considerable metalwork from old mill? still in situ.
Please park respectfully – Oughterard is a busy town, especially during the summer.
The river is fished, so please try to avoid paddling through fishermen's lines or anything like that.
This guide has a gauge but no paddling levels yet.
If you have run it, you can help. Tell us the level it needs to be worth doing (Low), and the best and highest levels if you know them. Once an admin approves them, this guide gets level colours, a place in "Running now" and a count of paddle days per month.
Suggest levels for this guideLoading levels...
Written by paddlers. If you know this river, sign in and edit these notes. Changes are reviewed before they appear.
Check from the metal bridge. If the rapid looks like it has enough water to run, then go for it.
How high the river usually gets each day, from 8 years of readings (2018 to 2026)
| Month | Typical daily high | 8 days in 10 between |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1.279 m | 1.16 and 1.488 m |
| February | 1.332 m | 1.187 and 1.618 m |
| March | 1.285 m | 1.126 and 1.536 m |
| April | 1.144 m | 1.078 and 1.366 m |
| May | 1.126 m | 1.07 and 1.249 m |
| June | 1.128 m | 1.051 and 1.304 m |
| July | 1.147 m | 1.06 and 1.425 m |
| August | 1.209 m | 1.078 and 1.482 m |
| September | 1.223 m | 1.11 and 1.494 m |
| October | 1.343 m | 1.146 and 1.666 m |
| November | 1.341 m | 1.221 and 1.625 m |
| December | 1.353 m | 1.191 and 1.619 m |
How to read this graph. The line is the typical daily high; the shaded band covers 8 days in 10. This guide has no paddling levels yet.
Past levels are no guarantee of future conditions. Readings can be late or wrong: check the river on the day. Level colours, "Running now" and paddle days are a guide only, not a sign that the river is safe to paddle. Read about gauge data and levels.
Contains Irish Public Sector Information licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (source waterlevel.ie, provided by the Office of Public Works).
This run is located on the outskirts of Oughterard town. Take the N59 from Galway for about 25km, drive straight through the town and take the right turn over the bridge before the church, and turn left after the bridge to follow the river upstream. Pass the Waterfall Lodge B&B on the left and park where it is convenient.
Just after the B&B, a walkway turns off the footpath, and is marked 'Golden Mile Start'. Take this path up, cross a metal bridge over the river (have a look at the drop), continue to the end of the path and turn right on to the road. A green area soon appears on the right. Embark here.
After the slide, continue for about 100m and take out river left to the footpath, before the bridge to the trout hatchery.
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