5. Guys Ford Bridge to AW Sherwood Horine Access (Watauga Gorge)Class IV-V
4.9 Miles
Avg Gradient 103 fpm
Max Gradient 140 fpm
Stateline Falls
Stateline Falls Photo of John Eskew by Calvin Southard taken 4/30/05 @ 280 cfs Gauge Information
Watauga
River DescriptionSee the AW Tennessee version of the Watauga Gorge Page, Leland Davis' North Carolina Rivers and Creeks, Bob & David Benner's Carolina Whitewater, and Chris Bell's Asheville Area Boating Beta Page for more information about the river.Sherwood Horine Watauga River Access The take-out is dedicated to the memory of Sherwood Horine. Sherwood was a long-time American Whitewater member and supporter who was instrumental in acquiring this river site for the public. Sherwood passed away in an unfortunate mountain biking accident shortly before the site was opened for the public in 1998. He remains in our hearts, and we honor his memory by naming this site after him on the river he loved so dearly. Directions to the Watauga River Put-in The put-in is 5 miles West of Boone, NC on Highway 321 at the junction with Guy Ford Road (SR 1200). There is parking on the upstream side of the bridge on Guy Ford Road. This parking is provided by the gas station market owner at the top of the hill. Please be sure to stop in and thank the family with your business when you're in the neighborhood. Directions to American Whitewater's Watauga River Take-Out Drive West on Highway 321 from the put-in. Take a right on Tester Road. The gravel road is the first "true" road after you cross the state line into Tennessee. Wind SLOWLY downhill on the dirt road past some houses/trailers. Please be respectful of the residents. When in doubt bear right. When you get to the gate (in front of the abandoned house), continue through to your LEFT and follow the signs for American Whitewater. There will be a relatively flat field on your right. Continue on this private road until it dead-ends along some woods at the edge of the field. There should be a high fence on your right and the Watauga River is down the hill. Use your common sense, do not park in front of the private residence or drive across the neighbor's lawn. AW land is the field along the last 300 yards of the road. You can park on the field and on the side of the road. PLEASE DO NOT park all over the field. AW only owns 1 acre. The rest of the field is private property. BE DISCRETE ABOUT CHANGING CLOTHES and use the changing screen. Please:
No dogs.Finding the Take-out From the River: When you get near the end of the whitewater, you will get to Watson Island. Take the smaller RIVER LEFT channel. Look for the staircase. Pull to shore near the end of the island, walk up the hill. Sherwood Horine Memorial Access Fund: American Whitewater purchased this site with donations from boaters like yourself. The property cost almost $30,000 to purchase and develop; and continues to cost us about $500 a year to maintain. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Sherwood Horine Memorial Access Fund to help us defray our expenses. Send donations to: The Sherwood Horine Memorial Access Fund, American Whitewater, P.O. Box 636, Margaretville, NY 12455.
StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2006-12-06 18:05:12
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Watauga R nr Sugar Grove, NC [ NC ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| State | River Name/Section | Class | Level | Rel. Level | Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC | Boone Fork— Julian Price Park to the Watauga, SR 1557 | III-IV(V+) | 32 cfs | 7/25 14:45 | ||
| NC | Elk— A) Route 1326 to Route 1305 (above Big Falls) | IV-V | 32 cfs | low | 7/25 14:45 | |
| NC | Watauga— 1. SR 1557 to NC 105 - Red Roof | II-IV | 32 cfs | low | 7/25 14:45 | |
| NC | Watauga— 2/3. NC Route 105 Bridge to US Route 321 Bridge | I-II | 32.00 CFS | 7/25 14:45 | ||
| NC | Watauga— 4. US Route 321 Bridge to Guy's Ford | II(IV) | 32.00 CFS | low | 7/25 14:45 | |
| NC | Watauga— 5. Guys Ford Bridge to AW Sherwood Horine Access | IV-V | 32 cfs | low | 7/25 14:45 | |
| TN | Watauga— Guys Ford Bridge to Watauga Lake | IV-V | 32 cfs | low | 7/25 14:45 |
| AW Gauge ID: | 1769 |
| USGS Station: | 03479000 |
| HUC: | 06010103 |
| Latitude: | 36.2383 |
| Longitude: | -81.8228 |
| Class: | 4 |
User Comments |
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2007-10-24 09:40:08 (275 days ago)
the road from hwy 19 down to Guy's Ford will ice over quick in cold weather. So be aware of that. Edit
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2006-01-29 15:50:44 (908 days ago)
Robert Farmer
Because I didn't see it mentioned anywhere else, I just want to say that the Watauga is one of the very best rivers on the east coast, and does not nearly get the attention that it deserves! It's an amazing run through beautiful scenery and should be on anyone's short list of rivers to do.<br />
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2005-07-09 22:34:50 (1111 days ago)
Chuck Estes
Please keep your speed down on Tester Road (take-out road)!!! A group of us had a very nasty encounter with Karl Livingston (local homeowner) at the AW take-out parking area. Mr. Livingston was furious (cussing us and almost out of control) because he felt boaters were continuously speeding down the road past his house. He says he has repeatedly told boaters to slow down and he was fed up. He has a 3-year old and he says he is concerned for her safety. When I had come by earlier behind some other vehicles he acted like he was going to throw a rock down on my truck. Mr. Livingston says he wants boaters to not exceed 10 mph in the area of the houses on Tester Road. Mr. Livingston's house is a two story house up hill on the right-side going down Tester Road (~1/3 way down)to the take-out. Joel Northen of Boone and I tried to reason with him but he was livid. A couple of us thought we saw a gun while he was talking to us in his truck but he never raised it. He made threats of getting the Sheriff to haul-off cars that were not AW members. I explained that AW does not restrict non-AW members from using the take-out. AW maintains the access for all boaters' use. We discussed that there are no signs on the road to alert drivers that a low speed is desired by the local landowners. Joel volunteered to make some signs for Tester Road. Mr. Livingston agreed to put them up.<br />
<br />
Please slow down on Tester Road. While Mr. Livingston's actions were way over-the-top, we do need to respect the landowners/homeowners and slow down.
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2004-09-23 23:42:57 (1400 days ago)
John Heffernan
The recent storms seem to have changed the river profile for the Watauga R Gauge at Sugar Grove, NC. We ran it 9/23/04. The gauge said it was running 300 cfs. It felt more like 200 cfs. The approach to the Guys Ford bridge is washed out.
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2004-03-08 09:02:58 (1600 days ago)
Max Jones
The directions to the take out are WRONG. The road is called Tester, not Stansberry or Watson Island (I know the area at the take out is Watson Island). I took Stansberry which resulted in my four-wheeling through private property for almost an hour. If you take Stansberry and follow the directions on this page you come up a hill and into a set of trees with a hidden 1/2" steel cable tied across at the perfect level to completely rip off and destroy a rack as I found out. As far as I can tell, there was no other reason for the cable and that the landowner must be sick of lost kayakers driving through his property so he set up a trap. Be warned, do not take Stansberry Rd, it cost me a $300 rack and messed my car up. I'll end my rant now, but you'd think AW would have good directions to their own property.
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2004-02-18 10:54:53 (1619 days ago)
Chris Bell
The bridge didn't wash away, it was removed and is being re-built! Brad is right, though, the old bridge is gone and so is the traditional painted gauge. The road to the put-in may be closed; park on the main road and take the short walk down to site of the once and future Guy's Ford Bridge.
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2003-11-24 18:43:53 (1704 days ago)
Brad Roberts
There were reports on boatertalk that the put-in bridge washed away in the high water (15,500 cfs peak) of Nov 19, 2003. As we all know, the middle piling of the bridge had been the unofficial put-in gauge for years. Keep your eyes out for where the bridge debris wound up.
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| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | Cabin | III | |
| 0.8 | Bump and Grind | IV | |
| 1.0 | Hydro | 5.0 |  |
| 2.2 | Edge of the World | IV | |
| 3.0 | Heavy Water aka Anaconda | IV+ | |
| 3.6 | Knuckles | IV | |
| 3.7 | Diana's Ledge | III+ | |
| 4.0 | Watauga Falls aka Stateline | 5.0 |  |
| 4.2 | Boof Falls | III | |
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