Little, Middle Prong (Tremont)
2) First Bridge below Lynn Camp and Thunderhead Prong Confluence to Tremont Institute(Tremont)
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 2.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 150 fpm |
| Gauge | Little River Above Townsend, Tn |
| Flow Rate as of 28 minutes | 1.52 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 28, 2012 |
River Description
This is a great stretch of local class 3+ smoky mountain creeking for those not quite ready to bit off the harder sections upstream. It also makes the Upper Tremont run longer and more satisfying.
Puting in at the takeout for the Upper section, the paddler is immediately thrown into non stop class 3 creeking for the next 2.2 miles. There are some crappy rapids and some quality ones. The big drop in here is called stop sign and is not a good place to miss a boof and/or swim. The recirculation can be terminal. If you are unsure, SET A ROPE or portage. The hole is scary. The boof is the best on the river, a great 6 foot launch pad.
Below stop sign, Spruce Flats Prong cascades in from river right, where more fun bedrock ledgy rapids wait. There is another half mile of class 3 before the run slows to class 2-3 to the takeout at Tremont institute. There is a nice parking area on river left on the other side of the road from the creek.
If you haven't had enough the last 1.5 miles is a relaxing but continuous class 2-3 creek trip that can als offer adventurous novices some exciting moments and good intro to the notion that hitting rocks is not always bad (creeking).
One more thing. There are always wood problems on this run and they are ever shifting. Have a plan for this.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan this section for the first time today. A bit odd as I've been living in and paddling near Knoxville, TN for a long, long time. The Little River gauge was rising as we got to the putin so it was probably 3.4feet which, I was told, was an excellent first-time level. And I couldn't agree more. As of today there were a few tree hazards, including one near Stop Sign Rapid (that strainer was river-wide, looked new-ish, but was 100% clearly in-view from the road and would probably be obvious from the river until another few inches of water puts it out of sight.
I enjoyed the first 1/2 mile or so, some nice boofs into eddies and a bit of read-&-run. After the first half mile it slowed down just a bit and I might rate it more class-3 rather than the pretty-constant class-3+ that started right at the putin.
Log in stop sign rapid as of 1-21-2006. Be cautious.
Not for my! Maybe once the water comes down a little!
charge hard off the left side and keep paddling hard.
Well worth the hike up if you are running Tremont.