Brief River Description

When the water is up this is a challenging river. The holes on the double drop and the bridge drop become quite retentive. The bridge drop can be quite shallow and care is needed if a capsize occurs.

Directions to the Put-in

The put in is where the river is crossed by the N59 (the main Ballina to Sligo road). This is between the villages of Cullens (7.5 km) and Dromore West (2.5Km).

There is sufficient room for parking although the safest area is on private property at the little shop (former?). So it will be necessary to be as efficient as possible and to do a ferry run down to the take out as it is only practical to leave one vehicle at the put in. The quickest way to the take out is to drive towards Dromore West for about 100 meters and take the road to the left which is signposted for Easkey.

Directions to the Take-out

The take out is where the river meets the sea at Easkey castle.

Just head down to the pier which in on the left hand side as you exit the village heading in the Sligo direction. There is plenty of parking here. A great river trip can be finished off with some time on the surf. Since the recent storms of late the river channel from the town to the get out point has changed considerably. The channel is now wider and rockier.

River Description

There are two main scouting sections to the river. The double drop and after the big bridge.

The double drop comes first and has a small undercut on river right after boat drops. to get through this drop you need to stay river left for the whole thing. there is lots of trees that over hang this section so ensure you can see the drop before trying it. Note that the water pushes off the rock ledge at the bottom of the double drop. Can flick the unwary paddler onto their side. The overhanging trees and bushes on this section have now been cut which gives clear views as you run it but paddlers should still scout this section if you havent run this river before.

The big bridge is located after a long flat section of river. This section is dangerous and needs to be scouted. There is a large undercut on left and smaller one on right. Coming out of your boat is not an option especially with no safety. There is a large stopper at bottom of drop that runs most from centre to river left. Keeping right and boofing is the only way through. the stopper feeds into an undercut big enough to lose boats/paddlers. overhanging trees and bushes are cleared on this section now, but you still need to scout this if you havent run this river before.

The Coffin Drop can be shot right or left. If the right hand side is taken, care must be taken with the stopper as it will in med-high water attempt to pull the unwary paddler back in for a thrashing. Also there is a small undercut cavern on the same side for which care must be taken when shooting this side of the drop.

This river is very good for advancing onto more tech lines. Ensure you run river early rather than later, a lot of time may be spent on scouting and rescues.

Local issues

When crossing through the fields to access the river close the gates! The farmer has no problems with paddlers crossing his land but gets very upset when his live stock escapes.

The Easkey is a popular river with fishermen, especially the stretch near the town and just before it meets the sea.

River level gauge

There is a river gauge on river right just around corner after big bridge.

River Hazards

The river narrows to a few feet in one section. In high water this forms a powerful gorge. Scouting is essential, rescue advisable, and less experienced paddlers should consider portage.

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