Conditions:Stony Creek-20250811170335

Latest:	9 Aug 2025 (1 month ago)

Reported by:	Brdn.gonzales (46 reports)
Quality:	Good
Waterflow:	Moderate Low
Wetsuit:	Thin wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	9 hours

Team: 2 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: On its own, Stony Creek is easily a 4-star canyon. The approach is straightforward—an easy trail that leads you right to a string of fun slides and swimming holes. My biggest piece of advice: be extremely cautious on the rock. It’s unbelievably slippery. Even with dry shoes on dry rock, you’re still going to slip. When we went, there wasn’t much info, so we spent the day experimenting—finding fun jumps, checking pool depths, and figuring out anchors. I’ve updated the description to include those details for anyone planning a trip. If Stony Creek is your main canyon for the day, it’s worth enjoying. If you’re charging straight to the North Fork of the Kaweah, you can bypass almost everything here except maybe one or two rappels. Now, the exit via Dorst Creek... that’s another story. After finishing the canyon and having an absolute blast, John and I were saying, “Why does this canyon have such low ratings? It’s beautiful and fun, I had a 5-star day!” Well, by the time we got to the car, I knew the answer. The ascent up Dorst is brutal—maybe the worst canyon exit I’ve done in recent memory. Expect 5–7 waterfall bypasses on steep, unstable slopes, endless bushwhacking, and no real trail. By the time we staggered back to the car, we were asking ourselves why we ever left in the first place. We did this in place of Chrysalis, which was running Extreme when we arrived.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
9 Aug 2025	Good	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	9 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Brdn.gonzales (46 reports)
Comment: On its own, Stony Creek is easily a 4-star canyon. The approach is straightforward—an easy trail that leads you right to a string of fun slides and swimming holes. My biggest piece of advice: be extremely cautious on the rock. It’s unbelievably slippery. Even with dry shoes on dry rock, you’re still going to slip. When we went, there wasn’t much info, so we spent the day experimenting—finding fun jumps, checking pool depths, and figuring out anchors. I’ve updated the description to include those details for anyone planning a trip. If Stony Creek is your main canyon for the day, it’s worth enjoying. If you’re charging straight to the North Fork of the Kaweah, you can bypass almost everything here except maybe one or two rappels. Now, the exit via Dorst Creek... that’s another story. After finishing the canyon and having an absolute blast, John and I were saying, “Why does this canyon have such low ratings? It’s beautiful and fun, I had a 5-star day!” Well, by the time we got to the car, I knew the answer. The ascent up Dorst is brutal—maybe the worst canyon exit I’ve done in recent memory. Expect 5–7 waterfall bypasses on steep, unstable slopes, endless bushwhacking, and no real trail. By the time we staggered back to the car, we were asking ourselves why we ever left in the first place. We did this in place of Chrysalis, which was running Extreme when we arrived.
28 Sep 2019	Ok	Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	3 people Advanced	Johnbcaves (164 reports),Randy88fj62 (13 reports),Nkowalcz (10 reports)
Comment: Passed thru as entrance to the good stuff downstream. Only suited up halfway. Very cold start: gloomy overcast, 40° temps, and drizzle made for a relatively joyless trip thru here. Still, I think I'd prefer this as the entrance to N Fork Kaweah.