Little Eastatoe
Dirt road off Hwy 11 to Hwy 11 bridge(Sliding Rocks)
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 0.7 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 100 fpm |
| Gauge | Eighteenmile Creek Above Pendleton, Sc |
| Flow Rate as of 7573 days | 35 cfsstale data |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 21, 2006 |
River Description
The Little Eastatoe starts out in a quick pool almost immediately above the first big slide. From here on to the Hwy 11 bridge it plunges over big slides, rushes past undercuts, and finally calms down to resemble the North Fork of the French Broad. The run requires lots of local rain.
Directions:(From somewhere over near Georgia, Salem, or Seneca)
Go North on Hwy 11 until you cross Lake Keowee. About 3 miles past Lake Keowee you will cross over the the Little Eastatoe. That bridge is the takeout. Continue North and East on Hwy 11 about a mile. You will pass a bunch of jeep trails on the south side of Hwy 11. Hop out at the jeep trails and walk down to the big slide to check water levels. To get to the put-in go upstream about another quarter mile to a chained off dirt road. Follow the dirt road down to the river. (Brad Roberts)
There is also the option of putting on at Little Eastatoe rd. This make for a nice warm up, but you do have to paddle about a mile of flatwater and duck under some trees before you get to the good stuff.
River Features
Chelie
Chelie is a big slide almost at the put in. The slides is big and most of the water splitting between the left channel and the slide down the right bank. The right side slides into trees. Go left or center. (Ignore the photo caption this is a photo of the first rapid not the second!) There is a good pool between this drop and the next rapid.
Chelie the middle line
The line down the middle of the drop can get shallow and sometimes has trees at the base. Scout the base prior to running the rapid.
Second Slide (Face Crusher)
Almost immediately after the first slide the river plunges over a ledge. The right side is a small vertical drop but most of the water goes left down the slide. The left is the most commonly run side.
Truck stop from above
Truck Stop is the longest set of ledges and undercuts on the river. It leads almost directly into the big slides. This photo was taken at the last big eddy.
Truck Stop
The river begins to plunge over some dangerously undercut ledges and slides. Stay right to avoid the undercuts on river left. The bottom of this drop feeds into the next rapid and the largest single drop on the river.
Truck Stop at high water
At high water the rapid is essentailly one big drop that links the 3rd, 4th, and 5th rapids into one quarter miles class V thing.
Green Wave
This is an alternate view from the top.
Green Wave
Green Wave is the single largest and probably the most intimidating rapid on the river. Its also the most fun. The creeks plunges down over a long slide into a big hole. The big problem are the huge undercuts along the river left bank where most of the water appears to go.
Boogie Water
After the big slide there are about 8 more boulder drops before the Hwy 11 bridge.
Hwy 11 Bridge
The final drop is a small boulder field above the Hwy 11 takeout.
Don't go beyond Hwy 11 unless you like 3 or more miles of flatwater on Lake Keeowee.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportKevin Yount
Apr 15, 2020
Was thinking about running it after it rained on 4/13/20, but when I pulled into the riverside park to get a visual, there were signs that the stream had tested high for bacteria and that it wasn't safe to swim.
Untitled
Dec 22, 2011
12/30/2007 This is a great short roadside creek with easy access The hole at the bottom of the Green Wave slide is sticky with a very strong recirculating eddy on river right,punch hard through the middle.Then do it again! No wood as of 12/30/2007
Untitled
Aug 26, 2008
Have a good roll but do not have to use it,shallow and fast with some quick moves but, the most fun you will have on a roadside creek anywhere. Dick Young
Adam Hackenberg
Jun 26, 2006
Taking a good right stroke so the reactionary wave won't spin him around like it did the first time.
Adam Hackenberg
Feb 4, 2006
When your going down the slide at low level it looks like your going to smash into the undercut but the pillow keeps you away
Brad Roberts
May 15, 2003
Will hoping the curler is going to kick him away from all of the undercuts on the left.
Brad Roberts
May 11, 2003
PS. Don't put on this run expecting anything less then class three water - except maybe the pools between the drops.
Brad Roberts
May 6, 2003
Nice fun piece of class 4/4+ gnarl. One slide, followed by 3 good rapids. Then the big slide, with the undercuts to be avoided on the left. This is followed by a big pool, then about 8 more rapids down to the hwy 11 bridge. Very cool, but very short. Best way to check levels is walk into the trail to the big slide and see how you feel about the drops. I would call the run similar in difficulty to the NF French Broad, but more fun! The big slide is one of the sweetest rapids I've run in a long time!!