French Broad, West Fork
SR 1309 Bridge to US 64 Bridge(West Fork)
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 2.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 100 fpm |
| Gauge | French Broad River at Rosman, Nc |
| Flow Rate as of 34 minutes | 65 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | May 8, 2025 |
River Description
The West Fork is something different for those jaded by the North Fork. It has a slightly different character, and offers the chance to go big more than once. Three times in fact, in a row.
This different and slightly bigger character comes with some consequences though, as this river has taken a life, unlike it's brother. There is a dangerous pothole in the first slide, small but significant seives in the boulder garden, and some bad lumber all through the run.
Takeout:
From Headwaters Outfitters at 64 and 215, go West on 64 and look for a small factory immediately before the small bridge. Turn L into the 'Shipping and Receiving' drive and park near the picnic tables.
Putin:
Turn L (West) on 64, and climb the grade. Turn R immediately past the CITGO gas station. Follow this road (SR 1309) until it crosses the river. Park on the left or right.
You can hike down the river left bank to the first drop to get a feel for the flow. It's about a quarter of a mile.
River Features
Put In
Jacob's Ladder
12 foot broken shelf slide into a 8 foot vertical drop.
In THE BOTTOM CENTER OF THE VERTICAL DROP IS A POTHOLE!!!!!
Usually run starting middle, angled right through the fluff, driving right down the shelves, and powering up into a sliding boof off the right wall at the bottom to clear the hole. Be aware that the shelves can grab your boat and slam you (seen a shoulder dislocation here), and the eddy in the trees on the right can spin you around. The line is tight.
If you find yourself going off the bottom drop in the middle, BOOF. A vertical pin here is a VERY real possibility, though the pothole allegedly flushes on the right.
There are also those who run right to left (watch the video below), and those who run it 'Hard, Fast, and down the Middle' at lower flows (below 0)
Clean trail on the left.
Twister
A 15-20' slide with a rooster tail 3/4ths of the way down in the middle, and a piton potential on the bottom left. This hole could get stiff.
Scout and/or carry on the dry rocks to the left.
Plaid Falls
Long, 25' slide with a fin of rock bisecting the flow.
Run right of the fin, and drive right before the final 5' slide, as there is a log laying off the left bank about halfway across the river, in the hole.
As of October 2004, there was a blowdown off the right bank hanging into the slide about halfway down. It is still possible to run the slide, but a severe lashing is a definate possibility, as is impalement or straining. The water at the top wants to push you right, away from the fin, into the blowdown. There's only ~4 feet of blue sky between the tree and the fin.
Scout or begin the heinous portage on the right. Bring your rope and sticky shoes.
Log
As of October, 2004, there is a log laying across the stream after the pool below Plaid Falls. At levels over -4', it would be considerate to those who love you to think about walking down the left bank. It is possible to limbo at lower levels, on the right.
Boulder Garden
Long, tight, and technical boulder garden. This series begins when car-sized boulders appear after about a mile of flat and class II water. The drops are tight, and the lines numerous. Eddies begin to dissapear the higher the water gets, and the holes get stiffer. Read and run, this is the half-mile long big brother of The Clog. There are several small but significant seives to avoid, and swims could be bad, as could new lumber. Stay on your toes and keep your bow up.
Takeout
After floating through the moving flatwater, you'll go under US 64 (the first bridge you come to). Look for a faint trail on river L to the picnic tables.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportWhen we first ran WFFB in 1981 we called the first slide Jacob's Ladder, the second Twister, and the third Plaid.
We had just run the NF and stopped at a convenience store to ask about the WF. The woman told us she had fished it but that it had a bunch of waterfalls on it. We told her that is what we were looking for and asked how to get to the putin. She said 'if that's what your looking for, you'll be happy'. We caught a ride up with a farmer that lives at the takeout. We had to sit in his living room and wait for him to finish his lunch with his wife telling him to 'hurry and eat these boys have things to do'.
Dwight Nalbone running the 1st slide of the West Fork of the French Broad on the left line. Level was 1 ft.
For the WFFB uninitiated reading this page, you definitely want to boof the ledge at the bottom of the first slide. There is a pothole in there, and I have watched it piton and pitchpole a very good boater who mis-timed his last stroke. At 3', it really doesn't want to let you get to the right wall to skim around the ledge with that small tongue. Middle, it seems, is where the pothole is. Most successful seemed to be entering middle at top and heading left, then throwing a righty boof off the lip. That drop is so much fun when you hit it correctly, but please don't take it lightly due to the pothole.
Left line at the first slide.
Left line at the first slide.
You gonna eat that?
Good line on the second slide.
Rusty on the second slide.
James has a good line on the second slide.
Tyler has a good line on the third slide.
Rusty gets some good air on the third slide.
Zach running the third slide.
On March 5 I and a guy named Dan from Boatertalk spent the afternoon cutting strainers out of the West Fork. We spent several hours on the logjam in one of the middle
Could the person who posted the Class V tubing video please repost it as an AVI file? I can't open it as is and I really want to see the carnage. Thanks
Nice line the second time ;)
Dont do this!!!! He knocked a hell of a hole in his elbow through some cheap elbow pads.
I watched a bud pin in the pothole in the first drop. He was paddling a Cruise Control set up as a C-1. He was ejected out of his boat hard enough to rip out the thigh straps. After that, I ran right.