Emory
3. Nemo to Oakdale
| Difficulty | I-III |
| Length | 9.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Obed River Near Lancing, Tn |
| Reach Info Last Updated | April 14, 2024 |
The Emory river from Nemo to Oakdale is an easy float trip suitable for beginner paddlers.The scenery is good and all of the rapids are easy class I-II with the exception of Nemo rapid (right at the beginning of the run) which is easy class 3.
The put-in is at Nemo bridge. A short trip (~5.7 miles) will takeout at Camp Austin Road, otherwise continue to the listed take-out for the full run.
At the listed put-in drainage area is ~616 square miles (as calculated by USGS StreamStats 4.2.0 software).
By the Camp Austin Road bridge it has increased to ~705 square miles, and by the listed take-out it has increased to ~ 764 square miles.
Just downstream of the put-in, most of the flow takes a sharp left-hand bend at the head of an island, then trips across a significant ledge. The channel to the right of the island is rather congested with a mess of trees, thus may be impassable. Boaters in the left channel may want to hug the right shore as the island ends, and check for a smaller ledge/feature as that flow rejoins.
Not far below Camp Austin Road, some (uncharacteristic for this run) rocks obstruct the flow, creating the second 'significant' rapids on this run.
Sep 27, 2013
Emory River, Catoosa Road to Deermont Road/ Camp Austin Road Class 1-3 (listed on AW as Emory -3. Nemo to Oakdale)
- Minimum flow is 500 cfs on the Obed River Near Lancing, TN
- Max flow is 5000 cfs
- Run is 7 river miles
- AW says 'The Emory River from Nemo to Oakdale is an easy float trip suitable for beginner paddlers. The scenery is good and all of the rapids are easy class II with the exception of Nemo Rapid which is a easy class III. The put in is at Nemo Bridge and the take out is in Camp Austin.'
Apr 19, 2011
Note that the river description refers to the Nemo to Camp Austin short run, and the shuttle is described in the Waldenridge link. However, the AW map shows the full run ending at Oakdale, 9+ miles long. -G. DeBacher
Jun 13, 2009
running the orange torpedo for the first time. we were quite impressed with this inflatable, cost, apparent durability, ck it out if you are in the market...
May 29, 2009
On the Emory River ... Nemo to Oakdale, whitewater, flatwater too, and a lot of terrific scenery....
May 28, 2009
River Report - Emory River TN - Nemo to Oakdale run - We ran this section at 490 CFS, expecting a slow run with little whitewater and were pleasantly suprised. At this level the numerous class II rapids provide a lot of challenge, but were all runnable. Nemo is class II at this level, and not really any harder on the right side than many of the others. But for a few the route was not obvious, and the drops steep enough, that scouting is advised for class II paddlers. The first 4 miles have many class II rapids. The river is often choked with large boulders. The river slows and pools begin as you approach the Camp Austin bridge. That would be the better takeout (if you can figure out where the takeout is), but you might miss what is certainly one of the top 3 rapids, the one right after the Camp Austin bridge. Occasional rapids continue right on down to Oakdale, but the pools get longer. The scenery is very nice. A very active railroad parallels the river the entire way. The canyon walls provide some spectacular scenery. This is wild country, check out the maps. The takeout at Oakdale could be improved for sure. but we definitely plan on a return trip to this one.
