Río San Fernando, Nicaragua (click here for the Nicaragua table of rivers)

river photo

Class: IV ; Flow: 100-300 cfs; Average Gradient: 14 m/km; Portages: yes; Length: 5.5 km; Time: 1.5 hours

Season: June to October ; rafts? no; Highlights: tight twisty narrows; Crux move: scouting for wood

Put-In: below San Fernando (681 m); Take-Out: Ciudad Antigua bridge (602 m)

Description: (click here for general notes about my descriptions)

The Río San Fernando (also known as Río Ciudad Antigua) is a short creek with a series of tiny narrows made extra treacherous by wood hazards. Despite a lot of scouting, and a fair number of portages, I found it to be a fun run and very pretty. The first portage, up and around a narrow trench (that might go if the wood flushed), sets the tone as it takes a while to scout both the rapid and the portage route (RR). The RL Río Alalí joins just below which potentially doubles the flow. (An easier access on the Río Alalí would be welcomed.)

A full description is in the Mayan Whitewater El Salvador, Honduras, & Nicaragua guidebook.

Descent History: I ran this in October 2017, with 125 cfs at the PI.