Canyon Creek in SW Washington is a local favorite, with good reason - it's super fun and at medium flows it's actually pretty easy if you're a Class IV/V riverboarder. Despite an 18 foot falls and numerous other drops, it's considered Class IV+ at that level.

On a board, it'd definitely important to stroke the right lines over the drops, but if you do that you pretty much just melt right through everything. Not that it's to be taken lightly, we've experienced our share of beatdowns and gotten pushed around plenty. But once you get used to the lines, this is one of the most fun runs around.

There are places where the creek narrows up and pounds through slotted rock canyons barely 20 feet wide, and then there are cavernous pools, such as the one below Big Kahuna, where the flow cascades over the ledges creating thrilling drops.

Thanks to Thomas O'Keefe from American Whitewater for the hi-res pics.