It's a good park and run, you can just do the falls if you want, or get on at the bridge to do a nice sustained rapid. It doesn't take to much rain to run, but best in flood. Colooney falls is 10mins drive up river.
The Ballysodare rapids vary with level and all can be seen from road. One thing to look out for is two small waves above the main drop on the stepped side. In flood, they have the power to flip a boat, but more likely just mess your line up.
The main drop has two sides. The left has a straight drop thats 5m-7m (20ftish) high depending on tide and is shallow on low tide. The right is the more exciting line with a stepped drop that looks great in high water. The stopper at the bottom just flushed us out but I don't know if thats always the case and I've heard of shopping trolleys being visible in low water. The river flows into a tidal lagoon so tides can have an affect on the hydrolics at the base of the main falls.
A sizeable hydrolic can form at the base of the falls in high water.But generally the speed you generate running the drop 'usually' carries people through without incident. The bottom of the river right line has a cave river right, against the wall. I've never encountered any problems with the cave (and it's trolls!), but apparently it is something to be aware of.
Low tide twattings off the river left side, and possibly the wee cave river right on the final drop.
The sally gardens drop (the 1st hole) has a Bar or two still in place from where the local fishermen have blasted it, this bar is on river right and will be below the water line on a day with good water, it is pointing down stream which is a help but it cannot be moved, it has been tried.
The river right bank is private fisheries land and they don't like kayakers, but they seem o.k. with us using the left bank.
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Written by paddlers. If you know this river, sign in and edit these notes. Changes are reviewed before they appear.
The river itself is predominately flat for most of its course, so it retains its water well after rain. If it looks good to go it is.
Typical number of days each month the river is at a paddling level
| Month | Typical paddle days | Driest year | Wettest year | Years with at least one paddle day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23 | 13 | 27 | 8 of 8 |
| February | 22 | 2 | 29 | 8 of 8 |
| March | 18 | 7 | 26 | 8 of 8 |
| April | 8 | 0 | 21 | 7 of 8 |
| May | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 of 8 |
| June | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 of 8 |
| July | 2 | 0 | 16 | 5 of 8 |
| August | 14 | 0 | 20 | 6 of 8 |
| September | 5 | 1 | 18 | 8 of 8 |
| October | 22 | 10 | 28 | 7 of 7 |
| November | 27 | 9 | 30 | 8 of 8 |
| December | 27 | 17 | 31 | 8 of 8 |
The best months on the Ballysadare are January, November and December, with 23 to 27 paddle days in a typical month. Summer is usually still worthwhile, with around 6 paddle days in a typical June to August month.
How to read this graph. A paddle day is a day the gauge reached between the guide's Low and High levels (0.75 to 1.3 m). Each bar is the middle year of 8 (2018 to 2026). Tap a bar for the driest and wettest years.
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 | 0.882 m | 0.648 and 1.171 m |
| February | 0.901 m | 0.649 and 1.263 m |
| March | 0.817 m | 0.575 and 1.149 m |
| April | 0.636 m | 0.474 and 0.892 m |
| May | 0.506 m | 0.385 and 0.704 m |
| June | 0.468 m | 0.356 and 0.732 m |
| July | 0.495 m | 0.363 and 0.835 m |
| August | 0.647 m | 0.358 and 0.964 m |
| September | 0.625 m | 0.472 and 0.932 m |
| October | 0.878 m | 0.641 and 1.126 m |
| November | 0.936 m | 0.669 and 1.155 m |
| December | 0.944 m | 0.697 and 1.19 m |
How to read this graph. The line is the typical daily high; the shaded band covers 8 days in 10. Dashed lines are this guide's levels.
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.
Levels for this guide: whitewater.guide (CC licensed).
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).
The rapids start at the bridge in Ballysadare town and continues it meets the sea about 2km later. Ballysadare town is sign posted on the main Donegal road. If you're just doing the falls, parking is best beside the graveyard on the left river bank. To get around here take the second right after the bridge down a short cul de sac.
The river take out is left after the falls, just beyond dam tower. Follow path back up.
On the take out River Right after the falls brings you up through private property, please do not use this bank. River left below the high drop will bring you back up along a path into Ballisadare village.
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Ballysadare
Peter
