New River
US 27 Bridge to Clear Fork River(New River Gorge above Big South Fork)
| Difficulty | II-III |
| Length | 9.4 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | New River at New River, Tn |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 304 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 8, 2005 |
River Description
Five miles of flatwater then 4 miles of II-III
Put In: at the U.S. Hwy 27 bridge between Onieda, TN & Wartburg, TN or more specifically between Robins, TN & Helenwood, TN (there is an access road on river right just past the bridge that takes you under the bridge to a concrete put in ramp with lots of parking)
Take Out: The take out is the same as the Put In for the Big South Fork if you are running from the confluence down. From the put in travel north on US Hwy 27 for about 5-6 miles & turn left at the Subway onto Niggs Creek Rd. Cross the RR tracts & take your immediate left onto Detour Rd. aka Helenwood Detour Rd. Go about a 1 mile & turn right onto Airport Rd. Take the left split at the Airport onto John Long Rd. The airport will be on your right and the road will be gravel as you go into the gorge. You will also pass a cemetery on the way. Eventually the road will end at the parking lot. (Taking out at the confluence requires carrying your boat uphill about a 1/4 mile)
Distance: 8.9 Miles (US Hwy 27 to Confluence with Clear Fork)
Description: This run gets overlooked due to the fact the the first five miles are flatwater and the water quality is suspect. However people are overlooking the bottom 4 miles which have about 12 Class II and 2-4 Class III. The first five miles are completely flat and are barely broken up by a few class I shoals. Finally, rock banks instead of mud banks and obvious gradient signals the start of the whitewater section. A few class II's lead to an obvious horizon line and the first Class III. This rapid is a 2-3 foot ledge on the left 2/3's that has pin rocks all over the landing zone and a spiral hole at one point that feeds an undercut. The middle has a pourover boof move and the right is a large shoal. Scout this rapid as it has undercuts & pin rocks on the leftside(see photo). Several more Class II
...River Features
Put In
5 Miles of Flatwater
This is typical of Miles 1 - 5
First Class III Ledge
River right is a shoal and is not shown in the photo. Middle and left is this 2-3 ft ledge. The pourover in the middle (left in photo) is a nice drop. River left (right in the photo)is peppered with pin rocks throughout. There is a nasty hole on the far river left (can't see it in the photo) that feeds into the undercut rock in the middle right of the photo.
Typical of the Class II
Typical of the Class II stuff following the ledge. At this level the whitecaps below are 2 ft. waves.
More Class II
River left and middle are a medium shoals. River right (circled in red) is a nice 2 ft. drop into a rock garden.
Solid Class II Drop
This is a solid class II. Not all Class II rapids are pictured, but the pictures are in order. See C1 boater at the top for scale.
More Class II
More fun class II. Not all rapids are pictured, but the pictures are in order.
Wabash Cannonball
The is the biggest rapid on the section and there will be an obvious horizon line. Punch the wave/hole, drop over another ledge and then dodge those nasty pillow rocks at the bottom that may be undercut. Rollercoaster ride.
Surfing Ledge
A nice little class II surfing wave.
Class II+ Ledge
This is a 2-3 ft drop followed by some nice waves. Yellow line shows a strainer blocking river left 2/3's. Red circle shows the meat of the drop.
Class II near the end
Class II boogie water near the end.
Final Class II drop
Looking upstream at the final Class II drop before the confluence and takeout. You can keep going down the BSF Gorge for a 16 mile day.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportI had a crew of three ran this river yesterday, and the level was 2650. At this flow, the class 1 shoals at the top become a good 2, and Wabash Cannon Ball becomes a 3+ or 4-. It is a big and pushy rapid at the higher flows. Several of the rapids upgrade at these higher flows. Overall it is a great run at this level, and the flatter water at the start moves quick. I would do recommend this run when BSF gets a bit washed out. It is a blast.
Flow was 2650 and this was a good run straight down the middle.
I ran this river today, March 26th, even though the sewage spill advisory is still in effect (I am just too impatient!). The water - by all visual accounts, seemed very clean. It was running at 1350cfs - nearly twice the running rate as the pictures on this website. It was a fun run with the latter half being very active. The last class III has a high potential for pinning, so be careful.
Andrew Hamby's first trip in a canoe down the New River in Scott County Tennessee.
This is the biggest rapid on this section. There is a hole on Scott's right and a second ledge before you get to the megaboulders at the bottom. The megaboulders at the bottom of the rapid are all huge pillows and may be undercut. Not a good place to be out of control or upside down.
If you look hard you can see a tiny 10 foot C1 about to run this rapid. Pictures make this rapid seem smaller than it was.
More class II stuff.
This is a surfing ledge just below the big Class III.
The red circle shows a 2-3 foot drop. The yellow line highlights a strainer blocking the river left 2/3's of the rapid.
The takeout is just downstream, unless you are running down BSF gorge.
Typical scenery of the upper 5 miles of flat water.
The river left side of this 2-3 foot ledge (right in the photo) is full of pin rocks & a nasty hole feeds an undercut. The pourover in the middle (left in the photo)is a nice drop. The river right side of the rapid is not shown & is a shoal.
It is hard to tell in the photo, but these are 2 foot standing waves.
In the red circle is a two foot drop on river right (left in photo). The rest is a medium shoal.
Gordon Byrd and Josey Chambers jumping off of the New River Bridge in Scott County Tennessee. Summer 2005. This is a class 5+ rapid, do not attempt unless you are an expert or mentally retarted!!!!
Sam Kidd, Robert Hallock, and Jordan Jeffers jumping off of the New River Bridge in Scott County Tennessee, Gordon Byrd in the water almost being jumped on before he could get out of the way!!