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Park Hill Beta: Parkhill is a park-and-play spot with a loyal local following. It can rise and drop quickly in response to rain.
Current Level: 
General Level Guidelines (Boydo): 70-90 cms: decent for a day out if you need to go. spinning, cartwheeling, and mild blunting 90-120 cms: not much better, but less rocks. Blunts can go bigger 120-150: Great play wave/hole, pretty much everything is doable if your timing is right, and the concrete is great for taking pictures on 150-180: Spectacular wave/wave hole, more retentive (yet surprisingly friendly) and again pretty much everything can be done. 180-200: I would go as far to say Epic, this is my drop everything and go paddle level. Less of a hole, more of a wave with awesome pile, and that neat little shoulder really sticks out in the middle of the wave for launching off. Everything can be done at this level. gets a little dangerous with the recirc coming off the concrete, not for beginners. 200-220: hit or miss, there are certain levels in here where the wave is attainable and others where you can't get on at all. I think 215 is one of those windows, also epic if attainable 220 and up: done, nothing to do but wait for it to come down, or go higher so the Mill Waves come up. Additional Comments: Geoff's (Boydo's) beta in the is very good, although he somewhat downplays the fun that can be had there at lower levels, and possibly doesn't say enough about how difficult it is to catch the wave at levels above 160cms.
Basically, the beta is solid, but 70-90cms is still a lot of fun (although vertical moves may hit bottom), and above 160cms beginners may find it very difficult to catch the wave. Above 180cms even experienced paddlers may find it difficult to catch the wave, and while Geoff says 200-220cms is hit-and-miss whether or not you can catch the wave, in reality, it can be caught at any level between 200-230cms, but it's EXTREMELY tricky, and involves playing chicken with the concrete wall.
I wouldn't say it's a waste of time unless it's below 70cms. The prime level for beginners is around 120cms, and the prime level for experienced paddlers is 170-220cms.
Also, people should be aware that the levels change very quickly since farmers in the area have been adding tile drainage to their fields. The level can go up or down as much as 20cms an hour just with natural runoff, and more if there's a big release from the Connestogo or Shand dam.
Another thing to note is that water from the Connestogo takes around 12 hours to hit Parkhill, whereas water from the Shand takes more like 18-20 hours.
Ice can be an issue during initial winter thaws, but ice-floes can clear out in a period of hours. For instance, at 5pm there will be 100's of massive iceburgs coming down, but at 7pm the same night there will be nothing coming down.
Paddling at night is lots of fun, but dangerous if you don't have a 100% roll, or if ice is coming down.
(Thanks to Bobbie for the additional beta, a seasoned park hill veteran) |