Clear Fork (of the Cumberland)
Hwy 90 bridge to Sandy Beach Cove(Clear Fork near Jellico)
| Difficulty | II-III |
| Length | 4.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Clear Fork at Saxton, Ky |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 94 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | August 23, 2009 |
River Description
Gage that works
SAXTON GAGE
Take out:
NOTE: FOR NOW YOU MAY NOT WANT TO USE THIS TAKEOUT. THERE ARE SOME NEW BIG 'KEEP OUT' AND 'NO MORE TRESPASSING' SIGNS. SUGGEST TAKING OUT AT THE CEMETARY DOWNSTREAM (ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE QUARRY) OR EVEN PADDLING ON DOWN TO THE BRIDGE AND PARKING AT THE STARLIGHT CLUB. THIS INFORMATION WILL BE UPDATED IF I AM ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE LANDOWNER. THANKS...BUT HERE IS THE INFORMATION IN CASE IT ONE DAY BECOMES ACCURATE AGAIN:
From Jellico, TN, follow Hwy 25-W South for a mile or 2 (or 3) until you start seeing the river on your left. Continue on, past the quarry until you see a driveway on the right and some paved shoulder parking on the right. From here you walk down to the river and look up at the last rapid. Park here, preferably on the river side of the road. Walk down the trail and check out the big flat rock that you will need to look for when you get back to the take out. Be careful where you step in this area as we did find one used syringe by the trail a while back. Recently (2007) the property owner has been cleaning it up regularly and even provides a trash can. PLEASE don't give him a reason to keep boaters out...respect the property and don't leave trash behind. Be courteous if you meet the owner. He is the guy with all the dogs who lives across the road.
Put-in:
Continue up 25 W (South) until you see a sign for a 4-way intersection. Turn Left here onto Travillion Ln. Follow Travillion for about 1/2 mile and park at your own risk near where the road crosses the train tracks. Be sure not to park so close to the tracks that trains will hit your car as they pass. I've usually parked here and never had any problems with trains or with the locals. 2001-2007. There is a local who lives across the tracks who invited me to park and put in in his yard, but as I can't remember his name or which house he lives in,
...River Features
Take Out
Put In
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportYou can park roughly at this address 102 River Ln Duff TN 37729, just park beside the railroad tracks or behind the mail boxes, there a path going down to the water right up from the mail boxes. Across the railroad is 2 vending machines that has a camera, so there isn't no issue of theft that I've ever had.
Thought I would add some info to the run. It is a local run tor me I live right across the river from the takeout, so thought I could shed some light on the run and some general info. I A fairly new paddler been paddling less than a year at this point and really enjoy this run it is a good training area for newer paddlers as the river increases in difficulty as the run goes on, great warm up time. I have since bumped up my level of runs but continue to go back to the clearfork to sharpen my skills. So if you are a new paddler looking to sharpen your skills this is an excellent forgiving river to develop class 3ish skills. The wave train that my crew calls 'Train Wreck Wave' even though it is a little ways away from the actual wreck site is awesome play spot. Worth the run itself if you like to play.
Put in info I always use the Travillion Lane put in have boated and fished here for years with no issue, and honestly the water above it is not worth the time. Takeout Park roadside above the cemetery just make sure you are well off the road and not blocking the cemetery gates.
Hope this is helpful
Brent
Almost lost it on first drop.
Salad shooter from above. River left of Haystack Rock (large rock) is preferred line.
Tommy G. running Train Wreck Wave. Nice hometown surf wave at higher water levels.
Tyler Mac Boofs!
Brent getting ready to run salad shooter.
Ran this section today at 200 cfs according to the Saxton gauge graph. This would be the minimum as it was pretty scrappy. However, there were access issues. Takeout now has 'no trespassing' signs up at the trail and was somewhat overgrown. We ended taking out at the cemetery across from the gravel pit, but parked up the hill at the end of the guardrail so not to take a chance on blocking the gate to the cemetery. Put-in was also a little confusing. We opted for #3, but the trail under the bridge was overgrown with kudzu so we ended up getting permission from a landowner to access the creek.
Overall, good run, but short and could use some more water.
There is about a 3 foot drop just to the left of the BIG rock. Its a fun little drop and its easy to run repeatedly by walking back up the island for about 20 feet. At higher water levels, you can't even FIND this drop.
This is the most challenging rapid on this particular reach. You can see the 'haystack' rock in the background. This is the rock with the 'She Jumped The Tracks' sign hanging on it.