| Difficulty | II-IV |
| Length | 9.8 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 25 fpm |
| Gauge | Emory River at Oakdale, Tn |
| Flow Rate as of 57 minutes | 231 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | July 16, 2026 |
The Obed Canyon is one of the classic wilderness whitewater runs of the Southern Appalachians. This section of the Obed runs through the heart of the system, and is home to the Obed drainage's deepest, biggest canyons. Drawing the waters of Daddy's Creek, then Clear Creek, then the Emory as the run progresses, paddlers get to watch it all come together in a visceral sense, and share the experience with more otters and eagles than people, with little signs of man. As the river bounces its way along the north edge of Hatfield Mountain, it flows through many great Class II and Class III rapids, and in the middle of the run encounters a stack of Class III+ to Class IV rapids with fine lines and quality movement. The pool drop nature of the run provides a relaxed pace at other than high water, but the rapids themselves demand full attention, as the lines can be tricky, and as with any plateau stream, there are a number of undercuts, sieves, and spots to avoid. Commitment is relatively high, so plan and choose wisely.
Flows: The Obed has a huge flow window, and paddlers can still typically find a good river trip on the Obed side for at least a day or two after Clear Creek has dropped out. At these low flows the river takes a while to descend with flat pools and slow current, and a handful of the rapids, particularly Rockgarden, become more dangerous. Once the river rises above 1500 cfs, the pace increases, and hazards start to fill in, with 3000 cfs and up being a powerful, high speed ride where holes start to become as much of a concern as undercuts. Over 5k is high-ish water and a real blast, with on the fly surf and play popping up all over the place. 10k is pretty high, and although the lines are pretty big, there are some monster holes to avoid.
TWRA/Catoosa WMA Access Issues: Part of this run is within the boundaries of Catoosa Wildlife Management Area. While it's legal to paddle through, driving inside the WMA is
...A new NPS managed parking area has been built off Potters Chapel Road. Park here, carry out the back of the lot and down a short mud hill to the old road. Turn right and carry half a mile and 300 vertical feet down a the old road to the river. The road skirts private property once at the river, don't loiter. It is possible to drive a compact 4wd high clearance vehicle down this road, but it takes longer to shuttle this short stretch than to just walk down with your boat.
Not far below the put-in and after some good Class II whitewater, the river turns 90 degrees to the right and approaches The Squeezes, where to constricted drops create some fun play.
Several options here. Easiest is to stay a paddle length off the right wall and run it straight. More interesting is to come from behind a rock on the left and turn into the rapid. Or come from far left, boof the meaty pourover, and s-turn across the current into the river-right eddy for the hero move. Great rapid!
This rapid lies in a gentle left-hand bend. It's rocky at the top, pitches over a ledge at the bottom, then heads directly for Oh My God Rock which juts upstream from the river-right shore.
(Unknown if the rock is undercut or not. There is a good sized pillow on the rock where the current slams into it, and a turbulent eddy on the upstream side, against the river-right bank, implying that water is not going under it. Still, if I was swimming, I'd swim like he!! away from it.)
This rapid is deceptively difficult and has a bad pin spot on the right half-way down the drop. Most of the flow pushes hard right into this feature. As the flow rises, this hazard gets covered, but then more sieves come into play further right. This rapid is very hard and dangerous under 1800 cfs, and gets easier to stay left the higher the flow gets. A half portage can be done on the left with a ferry into the runout, or a full portage on the right. Scouting is helpful on both sides. Be careful here, this rapid has killed.
An intimidating pourover lurks on the right side of the rapid below Rockgarden. Avoid the sieves on the left, and drive over the center of the pourover. Good recovery space below.
Only to be used in case of an emergency, an old 4wd road leaves the river at Canoe Hole from an open camp area, and switchbacks up out of the canyon to the rim, then wraps around farmland to Hardwick Road. It's another mile to Ridge Road and cell service.
Just below Canoe Hole the river turns 90 degrees to the right and enters Russell Rapid, named for Bill and Lee Russell, who were instrumental in building the momentum that ultimately defeated a TVA dam proposal that would have drowned this amazing watershed. This rapid pushes down the right side of the river into a rocky bank, so drift with readiness to move middle. Watch the diagonal ledge hole lurking in the runout that catches many a paddler off guard.
Often mistaken as Widowmaker, as it's the harder of the two rapids, this rapid lurks at a 90 degree right bend in the river. Most of the flow pushes left into some punishing rocks. Ferry hard right to stay clear, then straighten up down the right side of the straightaway for some big waves. This one gets more fun as the water rises!
Often confused with Keep Right upstream, Widowmaker is named for a low-water early descent where someone got badly pinned on a flat rock on the left bank at the start of this rapid. The line at reasonable flows is fairly simple. Enter the obvious constriction right of center and push into the middle for some big hits in the waves below. These waves at certain levels are 5-star surfing, mainly in the 1300-1800 range. All day surf sessions can be had!
From here it is just about a mile (of largely flat flowing water) to the take-out. The river from here down is referred to as the Emory, but when you look up the skinny little creek at the confluence, you'll wonder why the Emory would consume the mighty Obed and not the other way around. It's okay, you can call it the Obed.
Take out just upstream of the old Nemo Bridge, on river-left. The land below Nemo Falls, around the corner, is private.
Jul 16, 2026
**Previous content for Obed Canyon description, concerning logistics options:** Read carefully-- what follows is a varied mix of three options to run approximately 10 miles of the Obed River canyon. Option 'A' is the one that correlates with the actual AWA description of this section: Obed Junction to Nemo. The other two options are probably listed here because most east Tennessee paddlers do not fancy the half mile hike from parking area to the Obed River and more often choose option 'B' or 'C' as a rule. It bears repeating that you cannot drive to Obed Junction; you can only hike/portage. The half mile trail is an old jeep road that is relatively well-maintained, is wide enough for a party of 4 to carry an inflated 6-person raft using its chicken lines and the hike includes a bridge over a small creek. In March 2022 the park service improved the parking area for the Obed Junction Trail off of Potters Chapel Road. The trail is still a half mile in length; they did not shorten it. CHOICES: You have options for put-ins depending on how long a trip and what type of run you're looking for: A) Hike half mile down to Obed Junction listed put-in for this run and you will get 10 miles of the incredible Obed River Canyon down to Nemo Bridge takeout. B) Run [Daddy's Creek](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/1740/) from Devils Breakfast Table access area (NOTE: the road to reach DBT is sometimes closed with a locked gate depending on the posture of the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area). This makes for a 12 mile run as you get 2 miles or so on Daddy's Creek. Your takeout is still at Nemo Bridge. C) Run [Clear Creek](http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/1732/) to its confluence with the Obed and then down to Nemo takeout. You entirely skip the rapids listed below because via Clear Creek you enter the main Obed below each of them. A good argument could be made to remove option 'C' entirely from this description to keep it simple. Logistics: To reach the take-out from the town of Wartburg (where there is a National Park visitor center), follow the signs to the Nemo Access from Old Highway 27. Head out the southwest corner of town and continue 6.0 miles to the river. A day-use area with ample parking, changing area, and picnic tables can be found upstream river left of the old Nemo Bridge. This makes a great meeting point, has above average pit toilets, and in any event Nemo Bridge is the center of gravity for many creek runs in the area. From Obed Junction (which is at the confluence with Daddy's Creek), the river contains class II/III rock gardens until you reach a one mile class III/IV section containing **Ninety Right-Ninety Left**, **OhMyGod!**, **Rockgarden** (be aware of the dangerous spot that exists on the right in this rapid), and **Submarine Falls**. Soon after these drops, Clear Creek enters from the left. You will encounter four more class III rapids (separated by calm stretches of river), the last two of which are known as **Keep Right** and **Widowmaker**. After the confluence with the Emory River it is just a mile downstream to the take-out at Nemo Bridge. A check of the National Park Service website for Obed Wild & Scenic River will be time well spent. A phone call to the ranger Visitor Center, in Wartburg, is an even better use of your time if you want to clarify any concerns about shuttle drives, parking areas, locked gates and so forth. [https://www.nps.gov/obed/index.htm]\(https://www.nps.gov/obed/index.htm)
At the listed put-in drainage area is ~332 square miles (as calculated by USGS StreamStats 4.2.0 software).
After 4.6 miles (after confluence with Clear Creek), the combined drainage becomes ~514 square miles.
After another 4.3 miles at the confluence with the Emory, drainage becomes ~613 square miles for the final mile to the listed take-out.
Mar 5, 2017
I ran from Obed Junction (OBJ) to Nemo on 2017-03-04
The river gauge listed for this run, Emory River at Oakdale, is 9 miles _downstream_ from the takeout at Nemo.
The proper gauge for this run is Obed at Lancing, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/tn/nwis/uv/?site\_no=03539800&PARAmeter\_cd=00065,00060. You paddle right past this gauge on river left about 1.3 miles above the confluence with the Emory--look for a galvanized culvert-like column on the left bank and a cable crossing just downstream.
If you want to know the flow in the section above the confluence with Clear Creek, add the flow from Clear Creek at Lilly from the Obed gauge.