South

Klondike Rd to Ga 138/Stockbridge Hwy

DifficultyI-II(III)
Length3 mi
Avg Gradient11 fpm
Permit
GaugeSouth River at Klondike Road, Near Lithonia, Ga
Flow Rate as of 46 minutes
125 cfsbelow recommended
Reach Info Last UpdatedMay 5, 2025

River Description

This beautifully forested 3-mile-long suburban Atlanta run has a terrific bike path shuttle.

The whitewater consists of Albert Shoals (III) and several class I ledges.  Albert Shoals is runnable above 200cfs and becomes fun at 300 or 400cfs.  The primary route starts on the far right side and works its way down through terraced ledges and chutes all the way to the far left.  It's quite satisfying, especially if you manage to avoid getting hung up on the moraine of junky rocks that litter the runout at the bottom.   Above 2,000 cfs, the speed of the current and the size of the holes to skirt bump the difficulty up a notch to III+/IV.  There's an established portage trail on river left.

The paved bike trail that runs remotely through the woods along the river has two river access points in the span of this reach.  Unfortunately the Klondike Road put-in for this section is not one of them.  The first bike trail access point is the De Castro Trailhead located 0.6 miles downstream of the Klondike Rd bridge and 0.2 miles downstream of Albert Shoals.  The second is, thankfully, at the take-out at Ga 138/Stockbridge Hwy (aka Lorraine Park).   In order to bike shuttle AND put in upstream of Albert Shoals, start 6 miles farther upstream at the Panola Shoals Trailhead. That section, Panola to Klondike, is similarly undeveloped and wooded, like this subsequent section but it's flat.  More detail: https://pathfoundation.org/trails or google map with 'bike' specified as vehicle.


River Features

Put In at Everett Park on Klondike Rd

Distance: 0 mi

De Castro access point

Distance: 0.6 mi
Access Point

Mid-run access along Daniels Bridge Rd and along the PATH bike path

Lorraine Park Take Out

Class: IIDistance: 3.04 mi
Take Out

Alternative take-out while Lorraine Park is closed

Distance: 3.04 mi
Access Point

Take out here, river left at the bridge, while Lorraine Park is closed for renovations.


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