Seeking recommendations on East TN/West NC whitewater

[motor floater]

Hi folks,
My wife and I are heading to Chattanooga (and possibly Asheville) in late May for vacation. We want to raft whitewater so I'm seeking recommendations on river choice and guide service. (among other fun stuff )

I'm a novice/intermediate paddler and she is beginner. We rafted the Royal Gorge of AR river (about 900cfs) last summer in CO and had a blast. Hoping to raft something similar, maybe more advanced.

What river would do you recommend?
Also, which guide service would you recommend?

Thanks all, looking forward to your comments!
-Russ

[tomr]

tuckaseegee - class 2
hiwassee - class 2
nantahala - class 2-3
french broad - class 2-3
Pigeon - class 3
Nolichucky - class 3
lower ocoee - class 3
upper ocoee - class 3-4
cheoah - class 4

you can guide yourself on a rented raft on the first three and maybe the french broad, the rest are guided rides. Go to noc.com to read descriptions on all the rivers and what they cost.

[okieboater]

You are within a few hours drive of two of the most fun rivers anywhere.

First is the Ocoee. I cannot count the number of runs I have made over the years. Still pushing off the entrance ramp gets my heart rate up. This is one of the best ever class 3 / 4 season long fun runs we have access to. Run it commercially then do a trip on your own if you are so inclined. Most drops have easy lines or you can up the challenge big time. Best way to train for most anything anywhere as regards WW is the Ocoee.

Second is the Nantahala. About an hour drive past the Ocoee. This 9 mile or so run is the birthplace of WW boating for us regular boaters plus any number of world class boaters. Not only can you boat this run, NOC and Endless Rivers offer world class training. Maybe run the Nanty first then head over to the Ocoee. Like the Ocoee, I have lost count of the runs I have made here. Still I do my best to hit the Nanty for at least a week each year. Just plain fun. It has been said that no matter who you have boated with, set on the outfitter's porch for a while and you will most likely see them walk or drive by. You name it and NOC and Endless Rivers has it plus a bunch more services up and down the Nanty. Bryson City has more attractions and if you need a day off from boating many scenic drives in the area.

I freely admit this area is about as good as it gets for fun runs in my opinion. The second most fun river vacation for me is Salida and Buena Vista CO along the ARK in CO. Class one to five runs, awesome other things to do, accommodations from camping to luxury BandB is all there.

Hit the ARK in late June or Early July for guaranteed good natural flow water levels or the Ocoee / Nanty anytime. I see a lot of complaining about dams but I for one give thanks to the dam builders and operators who give us scheduled weekly releases all summer long.

[motor floater]

Thank you for the insight. I called NOC and they were very helpful. I'm thinking about renting a raft (guiding ourselves) down either the Nantahala or French Broad (whether we're in Chattanooga or Asheville) then considering the Chattooga for a guided trip.

What are your thoughts on the Chattooga in late May?

Thanks again, really appreciate it!

-Russ

[arkansas-santa1]

I've run the Chatooga section 4 in a C1 and also a guided raft trip. I've also ran the Royal Gorge in a C1 and open boat too. I think section 4 is as close as you can get to the Gorge. We used NOC for our guided trip. What a hoot. It SHOULD still have water in May. I'm thinking we ran it around 1500 cfs in our boats and around 2000 cfs in the raft.

[Smo_Off]

Green River Adventures run Guided trips using Duckies down Upper Green...they seem like Good Folks.

[motor floater]

Thought I would circle back and provide a trip report: (We decided to go to Asheville, NC for a week and rafted 2 rivers during our trip.)

Nantahala River (Beechertown to NOC Outfitters Store)
1st was a self-guided trip down the Nantahala River near Bryson City, NC. We rented a 2-3 person raft from NOC for the 2 of us. NOC shuttled us upstream to the Beechertown put-in (on left just past the turn from US 19/74 onto Wayah Road). This was a very nice USFS put-in, paved all the way to the water. This section was alot of fun with good flow and seemingly constant action, not many pools. This was my first time piloting a raft and I felt within my means for the entirety. The last rapid, Nantahala Falls, was the most challenging rapid on this section. There is a concrete pad on river right where you can pull off and scout this rapid which definitely helped in negotiating the Falls. The water is dam released so really cold (think Little Red River cold). We decided to paddle the raft over the duckies for this reason, and were glad we did. We took out at the NOC Outfitters Store which is right on the river. We had good pizza and cold beer at the restaurant there overlooking the river, it is a really cool spot.

Chattooga Section IV (US 76 to Tugaloo Lake), 1.4ft & 280cfs (USGS Gauge near Clayton, GA)
Our 2nd river trip was a guided full day on the Chattooga Section IV through NOC. We arrived at the NOC Chattooga outpost near Mountain Rest, SC for orientation and loading onto the shuttle bus which we rode to the Section IV put-in. Low 80s air temp made for a nice day rafting. This water was way warmer than the Nantahala. We stopped 2 different places to jump from rocks and swim for a bit. Luckily we didn't have any swimmers from our boat although i did come out of my seat on 7 Foot Falls. The NOC guides did a good job of staging through each rapid of the Five Falls section prior to entering the next rapid. There was a flat bottom waiting on us after the Five Falls to tow all the rafts to the take out at Tugaloo lake. While we were being towed a thunderstorm rolled in and dumped on us. It was really cool to see the mist swirling through the gorge and a great way to end an awesome river trip.

I've attached a few pics from the 7 Foot Falls (035 & 036) and 5 Falls section (all others)
Thanks again to everyone for their recommendations!

-Russ

[boofmaster]

Nice. Thanks for the share.