Whitewater Rafting in Tennesee (Memphis, Knoxville: home, camping, price)

[brit3218]

Hello,

I am from Memphis and I was wondering where are some great places to go Whitewater Rafting/Fishing/Camping, etc in Tennessee? I plan on taking a trip this summer but I'm not sure where in Tennessee I can go whitewater Rafting, camping, fishing, etc all at once.

[SPLIT]

B: Here is the county LINK for the Ocoee region NOrth East of Chattanooga,/ South East of Knoxville. Whitewater Rafting
.Many OUTFITTERs there in the region , usually have overnight camps /lodges in that section. Heavy / fast water RELEASES are only done on certain weekends, so really check schedule if you are traveling that far .
ENJOY

[TriDad]

Ocoee, baby! Site of whitewater events for the Atlanta Olympics back in '96

Google Ocoee for lots of rafting outfitters

[BlueCuzco]

As said, the best whitewater in Tennessee is at the Ocoee, which is an Olympic site. The Pigeon River just over the TN/NC state line east of the Great Smoky Mountain has some good rapids as well, if it's more convenient to where you choose to go.

Your three main options Cumberland Plateau proper, Chattanooga (eastern fringe of Cumberland Plateau), and the Great Smoky Mountains (and surrounding national forests). Though one might think the plateau is flat (and the majority of it is), the areas of interest are the canyon/river valleys cut into it like Scott's Gulf. (I hear the Caney Fork River is great for fishing.) This area is probably the least developed of the three. I've taken a number of excursions up in that direction, but it's not my specialty. You could, potentially, stay in Chattanooga then drive the 30 min to 90 min to a given spot on the plateau.

Chattanooga is a good pick if you'd like plenty of outdoor opportunities as well as access to a large urban center with good resturants, cultural events, a riverfront, and man made sites of interest (both modern and historical). There are several camping areas around town including the one I personally have used a few occasions, Cloudland Canyon State Park. It's about ten minutes from the peak of Lookout Mountain and is reasonably accesible to other areas of the city. Natural areas around Chattanooga: Cloudland Canyon, Little River National Preserve, DeSoto Falls State Park, Tennessee River Gorge (designated as an international biosphere reserve), Prentice Cooper State Park, Harrison Bay State Park, Elsie E. Holmes and Audubon Acres sanctuaries in East Brainerd, Chattanooga and Chickamauga National Military Parks, Rock Creek Gorge, Lula Lake Land Trust, Reflection Riding... the list goes on. Chattanooga is probably the closest spot to the Ocoee, which is in the southern segment of Cherokee National Forest, between Chattanooga and the Smokies.

The Smokies are an amazing place and could take up as much time as you want to give them. There are a number of great campgrounds in both popular and secluded parts of the national park. There's tons of day hiking in the park, and many places to fish.

So there's a general run down. There are other natural areas in the state, but those are the major ones. Hope that helps.

Kristian

[kamoshika]

Some of the best fly-fishing in the eastern U.S. is in NE Tennessee. The South Holston & Watauga rivers offer superb tailwater fishing for brown & rainbow trout. You could camp near Erwin, which offers whitewater rafting on the Nolichucky River, and be about 35 min. away from the Watauga or 50 min. away from the South Holston. But if you just wanted to stick around Erwin, the Nolichucky also offers excellent smallmouth fishing.

[Tinman313]

If you go to the home page ( bottom of page ) it will list all the places in TN. This one is for Crossville and the Obed River....

Tennessee whitewater - Obed River, Cumberland Plateau Mountains

[Bones]

Originally Posted by Tinman313

If you go to the home page ( bottom of page ) it will list all the places in TN. This one is for Crossville and the Obed River....

Tennessee whitewater - Obed River, Cumberland Plateau Mountains

Tinman, we should do this run after a heavy rain.....

No rain will take all day over the rocks.....

[Forest Breath]

There are two parts to raft on the Ocoee, the upper and lower as they are called. They upper part of the river is where the '96 whitewater events for the Olympics were held. The lower is all natural. Both have rapids 3 and 4. The outfitters I know do both ends of the river and you can book a run in one day for both sections of the river. They use to stop at the Whitewater Center for lunch when doing both runs, but I am not sure they still do that. I provided a sack lunch, including ice cream, for the outfitters at a good price and they stopped just below the Blue Hole, had lunch, took a break and then got back on the river. It makes for a nice day. ALso, some of the outfitters will offer a package deal that includes the Nantahala and Ocoee for one price. (Nantahala being in NC). They also offer some deal that include a few rivers in North GA as well. The upper part os the Ocoee has more limited releases than the lower does. (The outfitters have to pay TVA for water releases and when the season is slow, it does not pay off for them to pay for a release.)

While in the area, there are several campgrounds around the Ocoee and southern region of the Cherokee. If you are into primitive camping, those types of campgrounds are relatively close to the whitewater areas. For fishing, the Hiwassee and Tellico have great trout fishing, the Parksville and Ocoee lakes are good for bass and catfish. If you like Native Trout, the Bald River and North River (both very close to each other) are great for native trout. I caught a 4 pound trout in Bald RIver just above the Falls one year. Santeetlah Creek has some Native Trout in it as well. Oh and Citico Creek is good for fishing.

There are tons of hiking trails in the area and the Benton/Mckaye trail is relatively new and covers a vast area. Not sure if you are into hiking, but some like to do at least one trail while on vacation. If a long hike is not for you, the Old Copper Road Trail at the Whitewater Center or the Tsali Bike Trail are both short hikes, the Copper Road being about 2 1/2 miles and starts at the Whitewater Center. So 5 miles round trip. There are plenty pf places to stop for lunch right on the river and swimming available at the Blue Hole just up river from the Center.

The Ocoee Ranger District Office, the Ocoee Whitewater Center or any of the rafting companies can provide you with plenty of information. The Ocoee Whitewater Center use to mail out vacation packets with brochures and maps if requested. Not sure if they still do, but they use to. If you want, and they do not offer that anymore, I can pick up a bunch of brochures and maps and mail them out to you. There was someone else on here that wanted info on decluded hiking spots as well, I need to find out who they were and offer to mail out some info to them as well. Just DM me if you want me to do that.

[nkvette]

Hi,

We went to the ocoee river this last summer. It was great, we did the upper and lower together, and was lucky enough to encounter " the surge"....this is when the release results in water 3ft higher than average. Our guide said it didnt happen often. We stayed at a nice place in Ducktown. Copperhill is closeby which is nice also. Enjoy!


nkvette

[kbg]

It really depends how experianced you are at white water because some class III rapids is to much for some much less IV's.