Saluda, Middle
7: Hwy 186 (Dacusville Rd.) to Hunt's Bridge Road
| Difficulty | I-II(III) |
| Length | 4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 5 fpm |
| Gauge | Middle Saluda River Near Cleveland, Sc |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 1.38 ftbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 8, 2013 |
River Description
Good playboat run. Several rapids with good waves, holes, and palyspots.
Biggest and most fun rapid on the run is just downstream of where the North Saluda comes in on river left.
Quite a bit of flatwater between the rapids but still a fun run with a playboat.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan yesterday at 2.24 and thought the level ideal for the rapids. Barely scraped, but ideal action. I've done some of this at 4.0 and it's washed out. Up to 3.0 may leave some drops though. We found 3 class II's below the confluence with N. Saluda.
If you like an easier, more parking-friendly put-in (& gauge is above 4.50) you can start above Hwy 186 at the Freeman Bridge. That mostly just adds 4 miles of strainers though, and below 3.5 - 4.0, there's 2 logs to lift over.
Thanks for the additional information on the flow and the pictures. I've done this a few times but always forget to take pictures.
And thanks for updating the Run levels, Garrick. That may let a few more people try this nice run. I'd probably re-do it right down to around 1.90 if I were hungry for it.
The N. Saluda comes in on left right in a long class I. After that there are still another 1 or 2 class I's. Then this class II.
Each of the 3 class II's are preceded by a step or 2 of class I. This is the last one, about a mile down from the first.