Little Tennessee,

NC Route 28 to US Route 19

Gauge Information

River Description

Upper Green and the Nanty Gorge (with one exception; see below).

David A. DeCoursy wrote:

Beautiful and easy beginner run with close access to NOC. At 950 cfs it's all class I-II with about 4 ledges where you can find some small but suprisingly stronger than expected spots for learning to side-surf and hold your edge. Great for taking newbies for a relaxed introduction to ww kayaking.
Very pretty, great access for the most part.
The end when I went was a very unexpected Class 3 consisting of a breaking wave and hole shortly behind it.
Fontana Lake needs to be low, I've read, or else this last rapid (The Narrows) is under water.
In my opinion, for such a simple river, the end is a tad tougher than Nanty Falls, but without the Class-2 entrance. Scouting will reveal the easily obtained line but when you've been paddling class 1-2 for 6 miles, it IS a suprise. Newbies are bound to flip without a scout. Stay right at the entrance and move to the right of center once past the top breaking wave. You can punch the holes easily at 950 cfs if you're used to such things, but keep in mind the person you are taking may not, especially in light of the relaxed previous miles. (No worries, though; it's all lake after 5 seconds, so it's a very friendly swim.)