Oconee, North
4 - College Station Rd to Whitehall Rd
| Difficulty | II(III) |
| Length | 4.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 10 fpm |
| Gauge | North Oconee River at College St, at Athens, Ga |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 4.15 ftrunnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 5, 2021 |
River Description
This 3 mile section has a great mix of easy class II rapids and scenery with a few deep holes for swimming or fishing. Towards the end is a long shoals, just above the take-out bridge. This shoals requires some maneuvering and approaches class III in difficulty. The trickiest part, especially at lower water levels, is not getting stuck on rocks at the bottom of the shoals. On river left it is possible to hike up from Whitehall Road to scout the shoals.
Below the bridge a pipe crosses the river which can clothes-line and capsize unwary boaters. The pipe can trap debris and form strainers. Be particularly careful at the pipe at levels above 8 feet.
River Features
Put In
There are a few options to put on:
1. Park on the river left side of the College Station Bridge, in the right of way on the upstream side and hike down to the river.
2. Park near the North Oconee River Greenway Trailhead at the North Oconee Access Rd. Find a route to the river on river left.
3. Off of Research Drive, there is a dirt road behind the Georgia Power power station where you can park very close to the river. This road is about 0.2 miles from College Station on the left. It can be rutted so make sure you are up to drive down it. Drive down about 600 feet to park.
Take Out
Takeout on river left just upstream of Whitehall Rd bridge. There are a few parking spots on this side of the road.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan this today with a friend. Gauge was at 5.23. Large tree across complete width about 200 yards after the put-in. Mandatory portage/climb over tree. Could be dangerous at higher levels. Lots of other trees along the route, but all easily avoidable. That said, paddled it about a week ago with gauge at around 6.5 and could boof over the tree which had about 3' of pour-over. Other than the tree (at 6.5), it was a nice, mellow run with a few tame I+/II rapids and some very forgiving surf waves and holes with comfortable stretches of moving water between. At 5.23 on the other hand, water quality was a bit dirtier, and we were definitely hitting rocks on the shallower rapids. OK in a creeker, got stuck on a few mossy rocks in my Rockstar. Would definitely return at higher water levels, and great river for confident beginners.