| Difficulty | I-II |
| Length | 8.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 21 fpm |
| Gauge | Daddys Creek Near Hebbertsburg, Tn |
| Flow Rate as of 55 minutes | 31 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 16, 2026 |
This upper reach of Daddy's Creek is a great mild trip, with lots of flatwater, but a fair number of nice Class II rapids. The scenery gets better the further downstream you paddle. Undercuts and wood abound, so it's not the best float for folks without any whitewater experience, or those without someone in their group familiar with how to identify and avoid hazards, but the overall technical difficulty is low if there are no problem strainers present. However, there is usually some type of strainer presence in many of the rapids, upping the precision required and boosting the risk as well.
After around 2 miles of flatwater, there is a short bedrock section of whitewater that can offer up really good surfing with decent flows. Shortly downstream though, the river flattens out again for several more miles of stroking through slow water at normal to low levels. In the vicinity of the Cumberland Trail overlook and campsite are a few tricks spots to be aware of, mainly Murphy's Mayhem, where the river charges into some nasty undercut rocks on the right, often complicated by the fact that there are trees shoved under these rocks that can stick out to river-left and make the line to avoid them very thin. Use caution in your approach to these spots.
The last few miles are where most of the good whitewater resides, with some striking bluff scenery bedrock features, and rock jumbles to be navigated. While this stretch is mostly Class II with a splash of Class II+ at higher flows, the presence of wood and undercuts, once again, merits respect and attention if leading lesser experienced folks through here. Not far below the last big bluff on river-left, Antioch Bridge can be seen downstream. Get out just upstream of the bridge and switchback the short trail upstream to a driveway. Turn right and walk to the parking area adjacent to Peavine Road.
There may be shorter access options for those willing to hike or network, giving access to the lower few
...There is not much parking available at this bridge, but folks have had luck parking upstream river-right. Don't block access to any gates or driveways, and maintain a respectful, low profile.
Cut hard left to avoid strainer and undercut rock on rivers right.
Easy Class II that funnels straight through a small chute with a wave at the bottom.
Nice easy Class II rapid that has a few rocks to navigate through before a small spillover wave.
Class II with a few moves in a small rock garden.
Easy Class II with a large rock wall on the left with undercut on river left.
Park on upstream river-left side of bridge, DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY! And make room for other cars, this is a popular access area!
Jan 5, 2021
A group of 6 kayakers ran this on 1-2-21 @3.05 ft. We put in at the bridge on Chestnut Hill Rd. The best put in is actually on the SE quadrant of the bridge. Subsequently , the take-out at Peavine Rd. offers a trail up to parking on river left just before the bridge which would be the NW quadrant of bridge. The distance between the bridges (according to Google Maps) is 8.35 miles. The run took us about 4.5 to 5 hours, and we barely made it to the take-out and dark. At this level there was quite a bit of flat water paddling. The rapids in the 'mini gorge' were all Class I- at best at this level. We only encountered maybe 4 Class II rapids on this entire run. ***There is a wood hazard in Murphy's Mayhem on the left side of the river. The downed tree is running parallel with the river blocking the left side and making a slot between the undercut sieved-out rock on river right. The river current does indeed feed into the rock and must paddle hard to stay to the left as it want to pull your boat to the right. We nearly had a novice paddler get stuck under the undercut on the right. She was able to swim out before her boat was sucked under. There is an eddy at this level right above the rapid on river right which is a good place to set up safety. Not sure if this eddy gets washed out at higher flows. This eddy should not be attempted by a beginner. I would say with the wood hazard this rapid becomes a Class III with Class V consequences.***
May 18, 2014
***The AW page/map for this run is incorrect. I'm not sure where Sutton Dam is...but all of the class II rapids listed are between Chestnut Hill Rd and Peavine Rd***
I ran this with the wife on 5/16 in our Dagger Axis kayaks. We put in at Chestnut Hill Rd (northwest corner) and took out at Peavine Rd (northwest corner); about 8.25 miles. Both of these corners were not posted and fairly accessible (we used a rope to hoist kayaks up/down the ledges).
We ran it at 2.7ft (Hebbertsburg gauge) and I would estimate it takes 2-3 hours at this level if you paddle straight through. I would not run it any lower, lots of scraping/rock dodging on the shallow class I sections (class II sections were OK). We did not encounter any major obstructions/strainer.
We are novice kayakers and were able to manage all of these rapids without too much trouble.
Watch out for Murphy's Mayhem, it cuts hard left after the drop with the current flowing straight into a large undercut rock which can easily flip you if you don't paddle hard enough out of the flow, as we learned!
Great scenery and beginner run with no real consequences!