Brush Creek
to French Broad River
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 1.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Ivy River Near Marshall, Nc |
| Flow Rate as of 39 minutes | 117 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | March 2, 2023 |
Brush Creek is a small and steep drop-pool creek that cascades into Section 9 of the French Broad River. It boasts 3 big drops (15-30 ft) and lots of other smaller drops and rapids in the 4-10 foot range. All the big drops land in deep pools. Everything can be scouted with relative ease thanks to the pools that seperate every drop. Brush Creek looks like chocolate milk when it is running, and nearby creeks like Big Laurel will be high when Brush is in.
Parking at the put in is an issue as Brush Creek is on private land. Please respect private property around the put in. It is possible to slide into the creek from the road, upstream from the put-in bridge 20-30 meters where the road comes closest to the creek.
Once in the creek the bedrock rapids begin quickly. The first blind drop you'll come to is split into two channels. The right side is a sloped drop that allows an easy boof into a shallow pool. The next big drop is a 15 foot or so fast cascade that requires some strategy on the entrance and is best run far left. This drop is followed by the gnarliest drop on the run: a 20 foot or so drop featuring a smooth slide into an undercut pillow that launches you out into an autoboof for the last 15 feet or so of air. The last big drop is the biggest, a 25 foot or so drop that rolls to vertical and is best run left of center. The pool is plenty deep. There are some great smaller drops and rapids scattered throughout the tightly packed run, all the way to the French Broad.
The best option for taking out is to paddle Section 9 out to Stackhouse. Some paddlers choose to hike up Big Laurel on the way down for some added fun. Water quality in Brush Creek is highly suspect so take precautions.
Apr 17, 2018
Ran it 4/16/2018 after months of chasing it. We portaged 3 logs: 1 early on above the falls, 2 beneath them, with all of the bigger drops clear. Didn't miss any of the fun because of the wood! A few duckable logs. Water was on the lower side
Apr 3, 2009
Ben Vaughn :
Ran this creek finely for the first time around the first of January. Great creek with big clean drops. You should always check for wood but it was totally clear of any obstructions when we ran it. Scout the first rapid section from the left and the rest of the drops from either side. The Put-in parking situation has finally been taken care of. When you cross over the bridge of brush creek like heading to the put in of the french broad. Park in the first big gravel parking lot on the right, down in the corner as much as possible. I talked to the guy who owns the property and he doesn't mind but he would like a few dollars per car. We gave him 5 bucks and he was totally cool.
Sep 5, 2006
I ran this on labor day. It was low but raining. between 300 & 400 cfs ? It was runnable, but if I run it that low again, which I won't, I would probably hike down and only run the big drops to save some plastic.
The gradient picks up quick about 100 yards down from the bridge at the end of sharp hollow road. There are several 8 to 10 foot ledges with short calm stretches in between and then comes the first decent sized drop. About a 25 foot cascade with a potential piton rock in the pool below on river right. I ran the river left side of the drop and the pool was about 6 or 7 feet deep at the bottom. Up next and not to far away is another 20 foot slide that should probably be scouted. Most of the water is falling into the river left side of the drop and curling up underneath some undercut boulders. I tried at first to set up a seal launch above the drop on the river right to avoid the undercuts but couldn't find a stable enough place to get into my boat. I ran a sketchy line, launching off of a rock on the river left side, over the main current, and off the river right side of the last few vertical feet at the bottom. This pool looked pretty clean.
A few more skinny rapids later is the tallest drop of the run. About a 30 foot cascade that I would recommend running on the river left side to avoid a kink about halfway down. The bottom half of this drop is vertical with a clean pool and it's alot of fun. I ran it a couple of times. There is a trail on the river left side of the pool that is portagable but really slippery. I would have to recommend bringing a partner and roping the boats back up for multiple runs.
It's a crusty hike up the tracks to Barnard, but well worth it. Thanks to philippe damiano for the access, posted by Josh Dalton.
Apr 14, 2003
Forum: BoaterTalk
Re: brush crk.north of ash. by huka Apr 13 2003, 1:28 GMT New
Date: Apr 13 2003, 2:33 GMT
From: Neckyyakr
I've run Brush Creek...not to long ago as a matter of fact. If it's running, (the Laurel will be around 2ft. I think. Dunno it was big though) Brush Creek is a definite gem. Your boat will touch shore to shore at the put in, as it's tiny. The drops are all fairly straight forward and for the most part can be boat scouted. The first ledge is best fun on the right side with a left side boof stroke to angle yourself to the right and into an eddy. Everything else is mainly just slides and cascades. A nice 20 footer with a good launch pad is worthy of nothing. THere are very few entrapments with the exception of one slide around the middle of the run. The top of the drop feeds into an undercut...out and then down about a 20 foot slide with a good boof at the bottom. Best route is to seal launch into the slide, below the undercut so you can enjoy the rest of the slide. Apart from that, you might scout for strainers, but everything else is good to go. I would compare it to running the Chauga. Except with much less push and more slides and cascades. It's well worth it. Wish I could go....
Mar 25, 2003
I walked it on 3-25-03. It looked all clear except for one low overhanging branch in the enterance to the second to last big slide. I would characterize this run as very tight. When I walked down from Bernard I wasn't sure it was even the right creek because it was so small. From the top: The first significant rapid is a long series of short slides culminating in a 6 to 10 foot boof requiring a sharp right turn and another sharp left to set up. The landing is into a very shallow pool. This is also the toughest rapid to scout because there are rosebushes on both sides of the river and no shore access. I hiked right up the middle of the creek. Next there are three or four fairly straight forward slides into pretty good sized pools. The last of the slides runs right to left and at low water the left wall of the slide looks undercut about halfway down, not a good place to get stuck. With enough water you can probably get enough right to left momentum to avoid these. The next drop is a steep slide of about 25-30 feet that goes vertical for the last 10 or so feet. The entrance looks pretty clean but I wasn't real sure about the depth of the pool at the base of the drop. I was able to climb up from the river left side of the drop and I think a portage there would be possible. Things mellow after this with more broken ledges and slides to the French Broad. The hike back to Bernard on the railroad took about 10 minutes which would be a good option for short shuttle and multiple runs. That's all I have. I haven't run it and I don't think I will anytime soon. Steep stuff.
