Little Pigeon, Middle Prong

3. Porter's Creek Confluence to Hwy 73 (The Greenbriar)

Difficulty	III-IV
Length	3.3 mi
Avg Gradient	107 fpm
Gauge	Little River Above Townsend, Tn
Flow Rate as of 27 minutes	1.77 ftbelow recommended
Reach Info Last Updated	February 15, 2025

River Description

Consider using the new, 2023 / 2024 gauges installed at the confluence of Porter's Creek and Ramsey's Cascades as they are located at the put-in for this class 3 run. The gauge on this page, for the Little, is well-known to local boaters but it is 20 or so miles away and in a different watershed.

This run is described in many books:

Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to the Streams of Tennessee, B. Sehlinger and Otey.

Southeastern Whitewater, Monte Smith.

North Carolina Creeks and Rivers, Leland Davis.

People have been boating this classic class 3 run for a long time and for good reason. The river has pleasant class 3 creek rapids set in an enchanting environment that is accessible to the adventuresome novice and still appreciated by more serious boaters. The river runs frequently during rainy periods, and access is simple and unhindered.

This run is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so the aesthetics and water quality are high. The Middle Prong alternates between brief mild mannered roadside straightaways and powerful bends away from the road, loaded with holes and pushy boulder slaloms. It should be noted that most of the rapids occur on these bends, so they cannot be seen when scouting. There are a few exceptions.

The best put-in is at the confluence of Porters Creek. This is around 3.5 miles up the Greenbriar Road from US 321, and is right before the road crosses Porters Creek.

Note: If the water is quite high, or if Porters has ample flow, a fun option is to hike up as far as you like on Porters for a nice class 3 flushy run with a few technical woody rapids.

After launching, one immediately enters into solid class 3 shoulder boofing for around 1/3 mile. This is a great rapid and a sometimes surprising warm-up for newer paddlers. Next is a long series of bends and straightaways, which comprise a bulk of the run. The rapids are in the bends. When in doubt go right at islands. There will be a handful of

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River Features

Porters Creek Confluence Put In

Distance: 0.07 mi

The best put-in is at the confluence of Porters Creek. This is around 3.5 miles up the Greenbriar Road from US 321, and is right before the road crosses Porters Creek.

Ranger Station Take Out

Distance: 3.27 mi

Take Out

Takeout on river left immediately after the second part of Ranger Station Rapid. There is a beach here (regularly used for weddings), and its a 30 foot walk across the road to the parking lot.

Trip Reports

Judith Ranelli

Mar 21, 2020

1.4 on the bridge gauge is wet-rock minimum. But everything goes.
Unlike the description on this page, we call the rapid by the ranger station 'Ranger Station' for obvious reasons, and the rapids near the take-out 'Wedding Boof rapids' since it's a picturesque spot for weddings. What is called 'Big Pillow' on AW is called 'Sidewinder' in the groups I have run this with.
'Sidewinder' has a spot to get out above on river right and scout. There's a left side chute that goes at minimum but it's possible to piton. The right side feeds into a curler/hole that can get nasty. There's a center line that is friendly enough at low water, haven't run it at higher flows.
'Ranger Station' by the actual ranger station is a long rapid that is not scoutable, that culminates in an ugly keeper hole river right that has beaten the snot out of some folks. Run as far left as possible. You can also boof the center rock at some levels but be aware of the keeper hydraulic wanting to reach out and grab your stern for a long visit.
Everything else is read-and-run.

Watts Hudgens

Aug 6, 2018

I ran the GB several times in Summer 2018. In late April I ran at 1.5ft on the bridge gauge. I agree that this is a minimum level for kayaks. In general I tell newbies 'If it's an Island, in general take the right channel' . 'If it's a bigger rapid, then while there may be several lines, you can typically run left of center or far left and get an easier line'
Well downstream of the halfway point there is a mostly river-wide ledge. It has a pourover type hole in the center. The approach to this ledge is fast, but not terribly technical. At levels 2.0ft and higher you can try to avoid the pourover using a boof right of center (no doubt there is some upper bound to this line, but I am not sure). Otherwise, running far left of this ledge will usually get you good outflow and hit a weaker spot on the hole. For example, a recent swimmer had his boat spit out by this pourover on far river left. I hope that this helps.