North River

North River Campground to Tellico River

DifficultyIII-IV
Length7.2 mi
Avg Gradient60 fpm
GaugeTellico River at Tellico Plains, Tn
Flow Rate as of 1 hour
1.24 ftbelow recommended
Reach Info Last UpdatedFebruary 1, 2004

River Description

The North River is a Tributary of the Tellico. Its a beautiful roadside stream featuring a number of small ledges, the biggest being about 5 feet tall.

FS Road 217 runs alongside the river for the entirety of the run.

The most common put-in is the campground where the river pulls away from the road.

Take-out at the confluence with the Tellico.

This run is mostly rather undefined 2-3- boogie water, with a fun 100 yard section with five nice little cascades thrown in. The last 1/4 mile above the Tellico confluence has some good class 3+ boogie, though the road's impact to the streambed is noticeable. My personal preference is to park at the ledges section and run them over and over, as it takes 2 minutes to carry back up and do it again.

There is a section of the river above the campground that looks good to go, but it will be some class 5 creeking and log dodging.


River Features

Put In

Distance: 0 mi

Take Out

Distance: 2 mi
Take Out

Dave McConnell
Dave McConnell

May 8, 2009


Approximately 4.75' on Tellico gauge

Brad Roberts
Brad Roberts

Apr 23, 2006


Tellico went to 3.7 so i thought i would give north river a try. nice little warm up boogie, then the 5 ledges. most were about 8 feet tall. I thought that the ledges were far more entertaining that the ones above baby falls on the tellico. lots of 2-3 boogie water. It never flattens out until you hit the tellico. Watch for wood, hidden strainers lurk behind blind corners. The steel cable is still above the river about 3/4 mile above the confluence. I thought it was a great little run.

MS
Michael Stephenson

Feb 26, 2003


Be careful, there is a cable stretched across the lower part of the run at one point. Make sure you note where it is on your drive up so you don't get any surprises.