Conditions:Butte Creek-20250527034841

Latest:	25 May 2025 (1 month ago)

Reported by:	Tommy23 (15 reports)
Quality:	Good
Waterflow:	Moderate High
Wetsuit:	Full wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:
Time:	2 hours

Team: 3 people

Trip report URL:

Comments: Cool canyon with interesting geology. R2 had a hydraulic at the bottom of the DCL line, after 1 person down we decided to send the rest of the group down DCR.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
25 May 2025	Good	Moderate High	Full wetsuit		2 hours	3 people	Tommy23 (15 reports)
Comment: Cool canyon with interesting geology. R2 had a hydraulic at the bottom of the DCL line, after 1 person down we decided to send the rest of the group down DCR.
25 Jan 2025	Great	Moderate High	Drysuit	Special challenges	2 hours	3 people Advanced	Rernst86 (88 reports)
Comment: Some icy conditions. Water was higher than anticipated since we haven’t had rain for 15+ days and it has been cold. Overall, it was a fun day. Couldn’t jump R3 from the pinnacle due to ice. Jumped from anchor station on other side. Normal exit was iced over and we used the gulley that leads up to the small bridge on the trail.
3 Nov 2024	Good	High	Full wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	6 people Brand new to Advanced	Fumim (1 reports)
Comment: High flow today and we decided not to run R2 due to the volume. R1 was manageable and fun to start in the flow, just off the edge DCL because you would be in the high water just for a second, and come out under it immediately due to the overhung (cave) shape. For R2, we rappelled DCR from a tree away from the flow to the pool with a 300' rope. Not sure if 230' would have made it. Probably need a pull cord. For R3, two members of the group jumped from the rock, and the rest rappelled to the ledge DCR from a tree, and jumped from the ledge, which was about 15' or so high. The water immediately below the ledge was very frothy, but we all swam away no problem. No log or obstacle in the pool today.
8 Aug 2024	Good	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Easy	2 hours		Motovlogmatt (9 reports)
Comment: This was a great canyon! I’m new ish so I chose it because most features you can walk around if you’re not having a good time. We had a great time! The flow was fun and pretty easy. There is no webbing on R1, R2 webbing looks good. R3 DCR there is good webbing for the rappel out of the flow. We did the jump and it was great! Confirmed the gate to Abiqua Falls is closed. So I ran it twice!
7 Jul 2024	Good	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal		2 people	K arc (378 reports)
Comment: Never had a chance to run the creek pre-fire in 2020, so was keen to jump at the opportunity when the area reopened. Butte is a lovely little canyon with some interesting rappels and fun water features. Given the high tourist factor, it may be good idea to avoid leaving fixed anchors where possible. Replaced anchor on R2.
28 Jun 2024	Great	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Normal	2 hours	1 people Intermediate	TexasLorenzo (23 reports)
Comment: Water levels are fun, R1 can def be J1 currently. The small falls right before middle Butte falls is about a 4ft jump from DCR. R2 anchor tree DCL is solid however the webbing looked to be very old and I didn't use it. Currently the water iwill push you around a bit and the small inset about half way down is a cool place to take a photo from behind the falls. Beware the water just under the falls DCL is not deep enough to jump even the final few feet should not be jumped. DCR may be more favorable if jumping from the half way point if that was desired, depth check 1st. R3 was flowing well however there is a 8ft fat log stuck in the flow so I opted to jump it. Great little canyon with nice views and a very fun inflow rappel!!
17 Sep 2017		Low	Full wetsuit		3 hours		Isaacman 01 (8 reports)
Comment: For rappel 2 we anchored from a tree further DCL not in the direct flow. To get to this tree there is an exposed traverse through devils club. This rappel is mostly fee hanging and out of the flow except for the last bit you get a little wet in low conditions but not much. I am not sure what it is like in high conditions. It appeared to have been rappelled from before and is about 70'.
5 Sep 2017	Good	Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	2 hours	8 people Intermediate to Advanced	DMonroy (188 reports)
Comment: This is a really great canyon! In California this would be a 5-star canyon, but in comparison with Big Creek, Davis etc. an in mod/low water we decided it was "good", not "great" based on a lack of technical difficulty.
30 Jul 2017	Good	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Mbradley5 (12 reports)
Comment: Coming here on a weekend was likely a mistake. The parking lot was quite crowded. We avoided families swimming and planing in the falls, but in the future, I wouldn't do this on a weekend again. It is not nearly as much fun to canyoneer around others...
15 Jul 2017	Good	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	1 hour	3 people Brand new to Advanced	Willow (15 reports)
Comment: Flow on the gauge at monitor was around 12 cfs, so we stayed out of the flow for R2. The mossy anchor DCR on R2 didn't look particularly strong so we backed it up with a meat anchor. For R3 we downclimbed ~10 ft DCL and then jumped into the pool. Fun times!
15 Jun 2014	Amazing	Significant	Thick wetsuit	Special challenges	4 hours	2 people Advanced to Beginner	AmandaC (40 reports)
Comment: My first descent of Butte Creek; based on limited beta. Flow was slightly higher than optimal in some locations. R1 was in ideal conditions, current but no hydraulics at the base of the falls. R1 was extremely fun and we repeated it at least 3 times. Extra time was spent locating and moving anchor locations. We stayed out of the narrows above R2 as the water was moving somewhat swiftly. R2 flow was quite strong and not suitable for beginners and may have proven challenging for advanced canyoneers as well. Tried to bypass falls with a rap DCR, but a 200' rope halved proved to be slightly insufficient. It's possible it could have been done, but rope retrieval would have been tricky as you would have had to pull from the base of the falls while swimming and treading water in a slight hydraulic. I decided it wasn't worth it and ascended the rope instead.