Cossatot River - Ed Banks to Cossatot Falls Campground - Canoe/Kayak Trips on Waymarking.com

This is a beautiful Class II-III Whitewater run in extreme western Arkansas. It take quite a bit of rain in just the right places to make it run, but when it does it attracts boaters from 200+ miles away. It is shorter section that the trip down from Hwy 246, but boasts two larger rapids and is considered a warm up run for the Cossatot Falls just below the listed take-out.

Zig-Zag is a Class III+ double-drop which has to be run as the name implies. Starting from river right you drop through a slot then ferry across the middle of the rapid to drop through another slot on the left.

The Esses is a 150 yard long Class III wave train with numerous rock hazards throughout. The general line through this rapid is to stay middle-right for about the first 1/3 then slip into sycamore eddy on the right (First large right-side eddy, beside a sycamore tree) then peel out and across to middle-left of the wave train and eddy hop through the river left eddies the rest of the way down.

The take-out is at the Cossatot Falls Campground just above the Falls themselves. Many people run some, or all, of the Falls then portage back up to the campground take-out. For a description of all of the rapids including all six of the Falls drops check out the American Whitewater Page.

Parking/put-in/launching information: Quite a bit of parking is available at both the put-in and take-out for this run, but is often crowded if the river runs on a weekend. Paddling conditions to be expected: Class II-III whitewater. Bony below 3', pushy above 5'. Difficulty of the trip: All paddlers should be familiar with swift water self-rescue, have good boat control and be confident in their skills. A swiftwater "comabt roll" is highly recommended. Length of trip: 2.2 miles Portages: The sandbar access low-water bridge 1/4 mile above the take-out should be portaged over. Although if the water level is below 3.2 feet it can be run through the far left and far right spans, provided boaters scout for jammed logs prior to the attempt. The center spans contain protuding rebar and should never be run. Permits required: none. However, on all Arkansas waterways is it illegal to bring any glass beverage containers, all beverage containers or food muct be in a latched closed cooler (or the one you are drinking must have a floating coozie), and all trash must be secured in a study bag attached to the craft. Also all persons must have a PFD in the boat, and minors must be wearing theirs. Type of trip: Short shuttle of well maintained gravel roads, suitable for all cars and some small RV's. Take-out Coordinates: N 34° 19.246 W 094° 13.632 Other information: Not listed

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