| Difficulty | I-II(III) |
| Length | 4.6 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 15 fpm |
| Gauge | Clear Creek at Lilly Bridge Near Lancing, Tn |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 942 cfsmedium runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 28, 2026 |
Barnett to Jett is a very beautiful section with quality whitewater, but there is some confusion around its difficulty and danger. Often touted as an easier run than Jett to Lilly, many groups have had near death experiences blundering into a number of hazards on this stream. The truth of the matter is that this section is just as hard as Jett to Lilly if you took the Grunch out of the equation. The rapids are not quite as big as some found on Jett to Lilly, but size is often not everything. Both sections are sandstone based and therefore have a fair number of undercuts and sieves, but Barnett to Jett has a few more sketchy spots than Jett to Lilly, and one that is critical to have beta for before paddling downstream from the put-in. This hazard will be discussed further below in the description, as well as in the rapid descriptions below, and in various comments in the trip report section and at the bottom of this narrative. Please read all of this to inform yourself.
So with that said, is Barnett to Jett worth doing? You bet it is! It's almost twice as long as Jett to Lilly, which is nice, makes for a great front end extension to Jett to Lilly for a full day run, and is simply gorgeous. The whitewater is frequent, tricky, and fun, and there's really nothing wrong with it. The reality is that paddling on the plateau is dangerous. What that means is that you need a brutal sense of self honesty with your ability, more intention with how you operate, more coordination and protocols in group trips, and newer paddlers need someone with more experience and particularly with this section, to stay out of trouble. If this sounds like a good idea for all river trips, you're onto something. It should be. Barnett to Jett is a fairly easy run, but it tends to expose these weaknesses in skill, water reading, scouting, boat scouting, and group management skills. A roll is great, but thoughtful, coordinated downstream movement, with a skill set capable of catching
...Park on the downstream river-right side of the bridge, head in to allow space for other vehicles. Avoid leaving valuables.
Patrick Martin shared:
A little over a quarter mile after putting in at Barnett Bridge, the river makes a hard left turn into a wide “S” turn through some sentinel boulders. The local folk call this place Cook’s Hole. At low levels this place is just a bit sticky. However, at high water levels the upstream rock forms a pourover and a whirlpool opens up. Rafts, canoes, and quite a few kayakers have been roped out after being sucked down (This one does not want to let go). The safe way to run this rapid at all levels is through the far river left chute, then move to the right below the hole. But, once your probe, establishes the safety of the area from downstream of the hole, he or she can indicate to the rest of the team the other lines that can open up to run (this phenomenon is totally water-level-dependant).
Patrick Martin shared:
Another must-make maneuver is the left chute at “Old Mill Rapid.” This is another far river left (narrow and 90 degree angled) “S” turn. Here the left chute drops you into a small non-sticky hole, where you peel out to the right. There are other routes that open up now and again, but many times these routes are full of strainers.
Notice a distinct change in the river-left hill slop below Old Mill Rapid. More akin to chunky talus or riprap, the long, high slope of rock dumped down the hillside from an abandoned strip mine is your first sign that you're getting close to the most dangerous spot on the river.
After the mining tailings, and a long, quiet pool, the river begins to accelerate down and to the left, into a nice little bedrock rapid with slabby rock on the left bank, underneath some pretty hemlocks. Just below here you'll need to split had left to the left side of an island to avoid the dangerous undercut waiting around the corner on the right side. Stay left!
Below the hemlock corridor bedrock rapid, split left immediately below to avoid the right side of the island.
If you accidentally go right at the split, you will encounter this undercut. There is little chance to even eddy out. So stay left!
For more context, Patrick Martin shared:
There are several undercut rocks on this trip, but one you should be aware of is located at N 36o 7.653’, W 84o 45.238’, about two miles before Jett Bridge. Upon approaching this area, the River narrows and turns to the left in a shallow chute that increases its velocity. The left shore has exposed flint and shale with an overhanging rhododendron and hemlock forest. As one comes out of this chute the river splits. A small stream goes left, and the main current goes river right. If you take the small stream to the left, you will avoid the undercut. If you do take the right passage, do it at high water levels. Above 5’ at the Jett Bridge gauge (8.75’ at Lilly) one will not have to experience the sickening pull on the bottom of the boat just before being sucked in. At lower levels, trip rocks (beginning in the middle of the passage) will take an unwary boater left and directly into this dark crevice.
Note: we are not sure that the photo shown depicts this particular undercut. We're using it to give an idea of the typical hazard on this reach.
Super easy to avoid, but nevertheless hideously undercut. Stay right of the rock.
This is the final challenge on Barnett to Jett. Gordon Branch joins from the left, creating a long pool upstream and a boulder field to negotiate. Large house-sized rocks on the right are undercut, and often have trees jammed under and against them. Run with a patient but powerful downstream ferry to the left to avoid an encounter. Sometimes the entire channel is blocked so boat scout thoroughly before running.
Pull onto narrow, paved frontage road, upstream river-left, a quarter mile up the hill from Jett Bridge. This leads down to a small parking area. Park courteously to make room for others.
Sep 3, 2021
Sept 2, 2021 I skipped work and took wife & retriever back to this section enjoying the runoff from Hurricane Ida. The Lilly gauge was dropping fast from 430 early in the morning to 350cfs when we launched at Barnett Bridge in the Star Slice cataraft. We ran to Jett Bridge in 3 hours, while in no hurry. At this level we had only one spot, about 1.5 miles into the run, where we had to portage the cataraft over some rocks in the center. The remainder of the run had enough water to paddle but with more than a few shallow, scrape fests. My advice it to not take a cataraft down this section below 450cfs, on the Lilly gauge, due to the nuisance low water scrapes. I think 450cfs would be a new minimum required level for our group of 3 in the cataraft.
Mar 7, 2021
Ran this section for the first time on March 6, 2021. Level was about 6ft on the Lilly Bridge or approx 450cfs. I routinely paddle class 3 and 4 in my kayak and would normally be running the Lilly to Nemo section. I recently acquired a Star Slice cataraft and my goal that day was to evaluate the Barnett to Jett section, at 6ft Lilly Bridge, for suitability for a cataraft. I decided that this was enough water with the possible exception of two, perhaps three, spots where the creek is so narrow that a short 20-30 foot portage or 'drag cataraft over the rocks' may be required. A brief observation about the hazards mentioned by so many of the other comments. As a very experienced class 3-4 kayaker I saw that I could boat-scout and identify all of them rather easily with the exception of one-- the undercut rock & strainer about 1 to 1.5 miles (my guess) upstream of Jett Bridge. That particular hazard was partially or completely obscured to me and my boat-scouting and I was glad to have the guidance of 4 other paddlers with me who knew this section. They recognized the spot from well upstream-- an island/shoal in the center with water channeling both left and right of the island. To my boat-scouting eyes river left and right channel both looked reasonable. The correct line was to follow the left channel bordered by heavy evergreen & Hemlock trees with a short section of near-vertical rock wall on the left. In March 2021 taking that river left line kept me away from the more dangerous channel on the right with a messy strainer and current that flows into the undercut. I still had some work to do, to stay safe in the river left channel, but in my opinion competent class two kayakers would be OK. Overall I found this section quite scenic despite the large sections of trees, in the first 1.5 miles, blown down by the 2019/2020 tornadoes. About halfway through the run there were several short class 2 rapids with very long and deep pools downstream which would lend themselves quite well to instructional trips. I plan on future trips paddling my Slice solo with my water-loving retriever.