French Broad, North Fork
1) Tanasee Gap Road to Old Wagon Road
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 1.6 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 8, 2025 |
River Description
Put in at Tanasee gap road, take out at old wagon road. The first mile is flat, the second two thirds of a mile contain a gorge. It is easy to self shuttle by putting in at living waters tabernacle, but you miss the first waterfall. Sadly it is not possible to put in immediately above the falls without tresspassing. The whitewater is slightly lower quality than the regular north fork run, but it is an easier self shuttle and will likely be at a good level if the regular run is a bit to high for you.
River Features
Cathedral falls
17 foot Plop-and-drop
Slide
Run center to right around a very large hole fed by a rock on the left
Pancake Falls
Only about 2ft high, but with a uniform lip that forms what I'm sure is a very retentive hole
Bird rock falls
15 foot drop on the left with a shallow landing on the left, slide that feeds an undercut wall on the right.
stairstep
just get left of the sieve at the top right then enjoy some cool bedrock action
The island
Right side is a 6ft slide with a sizeable hole at the bottom, similar to wale's back on the davison. Left is some boulder action