Chattooga,

Section 4 - Route 76 Bridge to Tugaloo Lake Boat Ramp (Section 4)

Low-water line at Corkscrew

Low-water line at Corkscrew
Photo of Andrew Huang by Amanda Loftis taken 1184990400 @ 0.8

Gauge Information

River Description

Gauge Description: NOTE: The online gauge above reads differently than the paddler's gauge on the US 76 Bridge. Most paddlers refer to the bridge gauge. The online gauge reads about .15 higher than the bridge gauge at 2 feet, about .25 higher below two feet and the same at about 2.8 feet. It can be run down to .5 or even lower but is very scrapy. Above 2.0' Five Falls starts to bump up to class 5. It can certainly be run above 2.2', but only by experienced Section 4 paddlers. The Five Falls section gets much more difficult and dangerous at high water. Highest known run was August 17, 1994 at something between 9 and 10 feet from below Woodall to the Lake. According to USGS the river peaked at 17,500 cfs. Participants included Russ Kulmar, John Lesan, "Snuffy" Hall, Kent Wiginton, and Richard Oldenquist.

This is the Southeastern Classic! More legends exist about Five Falls of the Chattooga than almost any other set of rapids. Taken individually any of the 5 rapids of Five Falls would be significant named drops on any typical Southeastern river. They are far from the hair found on steep creeks and the legendary danger associated with these rapids arises in part from the long history of boating the Chattooga (40+ years). That said, approach these rapids with caution as they have killed and injured plenty of boaters.
This is the river where a portion of the classic 1972 movie Deliverance was filmed.
The Chattooga became a National Wild and Scenic River July 1, 1976.


An Important note about Crack in the Rock rapid.
Most of the existing guidebooks in print still recommend right crack as the prefered route. This is no longer the case. A flood back around 1998 blew the original log out of the crack. Since then right crack has become an undercut boulder sieve. Boats and boaters have washed under the logs and rocks in right crack. On November 9, 2003 it was the sight of a fatality. Any swim out of Corkscrew should be taken seriously. Left Crack has been the sight of numerous fatalities and right crack is possibly more dangerous. If you swim get to the bank quickly and do not swim into Crack in the Rock. Do nothing that involves hysteria, just swim to the bank.

Most boaters run Crack below 2 feet thru middle crack. Use your good judgement here. Running left crack when it has water flowing over the top is an easy move but do not get flipped at the top or you could get hurt or pinned. Middle crack sometimes has debris. Far right crack is a blind rapid at high water and can accumulate debris. There is even a route over the right side of right crack if you are really careful.

The good news is that the rapid can be portaged on both banks.

Crack changes more than any rapid on the river. Debris in the underwater sieve can change the pool height upstream of the drop and change the nature of the rapid. Center crack changed recently (2005) and is now about a 2 foot tall pourover that can backender kayaks between the two boulders.

Finally, just remember that most of the large rocks in Five Falls are undercut.

Putin and Shuttle Description

The put-in for this section of the river is located where US 76 crosses the river about 8 miles east of Clayton GA near Long Creek, SC and forms the Georgia-South Carolina state line.

There are parking areas on both the Georgia and South Carolina side of the river.
On the Georgia side you will find a small parking area ($2.00 fee) for hikers that holds about 5 cars. You can put in here with a short walk down to the river. The walk is alittle shorter than the paved road to the beach below Bull Sluice or the trail to that rapids. However if you put in here you miss Bull Sluice rapid.

There is a large USFS parking lot on the SC side of the river with changing rooms and bathrooms and with no parking fee. Follow the paved path about 250 yards to thebeach below Bull Sluice or take the trail off to the right and put in right above Bull Sluice. Boaters sometimes access this river via Stekoa Creek.
Stekoa Creek.

To get to the take-out:
From the put-in, head left out of the parking lot (east) for about 2.5 miles or so and turn right on Orchard Road. Follow Orchard Road until it dead ends on Battle Creek Road (across from the Dixie Aluminum plant). Turn right on Battle Creek. Stay on Battle Creek, you will come to a sharp right turn in the road, stay on the paved road. You are now on Damascus Church Road. Just past the little white church on the left, bear right onto Bull Sluice Road. This is a dirt road and you will see a sign for the Tugaloo Boat Ramp. Follow this dirt road all the way to the end and park at the boat ramp. Round trip is about 45 minutes. There are other access points such as Tugaloo Dam, Possum Creek, and Camp Creek but most of these are excessively strenuous.

At the put-in don't forget to fill out the self registration forms.

Other links:
See also Section 3.