French Broad

Rohn running the main line at the Falls rapid on French broad section 11.

Lots of flat water, but beautiful scenery, on the French Broad in the vicinity of Del Rio, TN.

Running the main line of the ledge on the French Broad below Del Rio, TN.

Located immediately downstream on river-right from Barbarosa Tavern.

Some rapid names currently used by local guides and outfitters::
Mile 3: 'Dynamite Ledge' class: II: named for the sharp rock resulting from dynamiting on river left when the RR was constructed. Best lines are river right and center, just left of the rock island.
Mile 3.5: 'Tavern Rapid' class: II(III): Named for the Bobarosa Saloon, a biker bar on river right of some notoriety. Enter the rapid on river right to the sounds of Skynard and then work left to an obvious channel near river left at the bottom of the rapid. This rapid is almost a 1/4 mile long which could be inopportune for would-be swimmers!
Mile 5: 'Galloping Sluice' class: II(III): at this point, all of the river flows into a river-left channel that then drops over a shoal/gravel bar to create a fast and fun wave-train. At 1500cfs the waves can reach 3 feet. At 3000cfs, the waves can reach 5+ feet! A large underwater rock extends 10 feet out from the left shore somewhere near the top of this rapid! This rock will clean your clock so have plenty of right hand boat angle and stay clear of the left shore! Swimmers should be very careful to keep feet up as swimmers have sustained injuries in this rapid!
Mile 5.25: 'Zig-Zag' aka 'Rib Cracker' class: II(+): a shoal that creates multiple small pourovers and holes depending on the level. Added challenge can be had by catching eddies along river left. The rocks in this rapid can be quite sharp and swimming should be avoided.
Mile 6: 'Rollercoaster' class II: at this point the river drops about 6 feet over a gravel bar that creates a series of large standing waves. This rapid is quite fun and can easily swamp an open canoe. Large eddy at bottom of rapid makes for easy rescue.

There was lots of flat water when we ran this route, it was pretty fun still. I bet it would be pretty good when it starts getting around 2500-3000 cfs. Consider taking out near the large bridge which goes over the river, it would save you some major flat water on the way to the market.

The French Broad from Del Rio to Brigdeport is a pretty fun little ride.

Treat the falls with respect! Scout them well before you choose to run them. A local man drowned at the falls the day after we last ran it! We did this stretch on 22 July 2004 at a little under 2000 cfs. It was a great time but we used our heads, too! Just be ready to paddle some big calm stretches in between the fun rapids.

Running the tongue on the center drop. Miss the hole on the right and the rooster tail on the left!
Liz running the right hand route of the Falls. If you're not wanting to comit to the center drop then try this line.
This is Brian on his second attempt to do the falls. Look hard for his paddle because thats all thats exposed at the moment.
This is Brian's first attempt to run the falls. He missed the center line and ended up in the hole on the right side of the drop. He had a fun swim!

The put in and takeouts are both on Private Property as listed. Securing permission at the put in is no problem as the land owner lives on the propery. The take out is a small campground with a couple of trailers parked on it. The land owner does not live on the property. It took quite a bit of asking around to locate the land owner. Called him and was able to get permission to use the camp ground as a takeout. GPS coords for the take out appear to be about a half mile off. Takeout is actaully to the west. Its behind a small store with two gas pumps in front of it. At the end of the gas pumps is a small sign that says 'Bridgeport Market'. There is a dirt road at the east end of the Market's parking lot that goes down to the river and the camp ground.

We actually put in on a road that appears to be an approach road to the Old 107 bridge. The RR Bridge listed I recall seeing about a half mile down stream. This means that the put in coordinates are also off about a half mile to the east according to TopoZone.com as well.

Pretty fun rapid on this stretch of the French Broad.
Liz is tryin' her hand at a little surfing below the falls on the French Broad. Good little spot to learn some of those skills.
This is the very end of the Milky Way Rapid, probably the most fun ride on the trip. MW is about 100 yards of 4-5 ft. standing waves. It is possible to get out down below and walk back up to run them again. The whole trip is worth this rapid!
This is the rapid behind the campground. Don't think it has a name but it is a fun class II drop. Can be run on far right or left, both routes having playable waves.

Right hand sneak of falls.