Toxaway River
2. Highway 64 to Augerhole Road
| Difficulty | V+ |
| Length | 6.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 250 fpm |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 18, 2025 |
River Description
This run is one of the most serious undertakings available in the southeast. It should only be attempted by those who are skilled enough to do it. The upper mile or so is fun and reasonable class IV+, once you get to Minigizer the run stays V to V+ all the way till the end. Minigizer, Energizer, Feeding Trough, Landbridge, and Wintergreen Falls are all on the large end of the navigability scale. Flipping over would be very bad and these rapids tend to dish out the less expected of situations.
The run starts off below the main drop of Toxaway Falls. The middle two drops are seldom run but the bottom two are super fun. Slide in on river left for a very long and fun slide of about 200 yards in length. Great fun!
Paddle around the corner through some flats and then the next rapid is a low quality boulder pile called First Mank.
Eddy out at the next horizon line for Twin Falls, a 15 footer split by a rock. The only sensible line is on the right trying to stay center. Make sure to hit a big boof with your weight forward. A rock shelf extends out from river right making the landing narrow.
Immediately below here the river begins its ride down a long series of class IV to IV+ bedrock slides called Space Mountain. The first set is more abrubt and ledgy, with the second set being bigger, faster and lower angle class V. After these two great sets, there is a short calm followed by a long low angle slide against the bank on the left.
After a short flat stretch the river picks back up with a 3 foot ledge followed by a fun little class IV with a sticky hole below. Right below this the creek goes down a fun slide that falls into a big fold on the left. This one is good fun, but sometimes there is a log in the upper left hand crook of the fold, so drive out to the right a little to clear this possible situation.
Following the fold rapid is a nice little sluice against the left bank and then you reach the last rapid above the hard section. This
...River Features
Toxaway Falls
Its only been run once, and it will be a while before someone does it again. Portage left, then ferry across to the right, portaging the next two 20 foot ledges as well, as they land on bedrock.
First Slide
Slide in right below the two drops below Toxaway falls and enjoy the longest slide anywhere in the SE. Its straightforward and is steepest at the bottom where it slopes down a 30 foot dome.
First Mank
Bang down the left channel here careful not to pin.
Twin Falls
Run the right side here, heading back center. Boofing is recommended.
Space Mountain part one
This first part is ledgy and has some holes to punch.
Space Mountain part two
Here the river gains speed and gradient and drops down a series of 3 fast slides with the first being the biggest.
Slide on left bank
Duck the trees against the left bank as you slide on the shallow bedrock entrance to this straightforward dome rapid.
Entrance to folding slide
Boof a ledge on the left and then down the middle of a short rapid with a sticky hole at the bottom.
Folding slide
The whole river falls into a big fold that typewriters from left to right. Watch out for wood on the left.
Sticky hole slide
This slide is only about 4 feet wide and drops around 20 feet. There is a very sticky hole at the bottom so be ready for it.
Minigizer
Two options: 1) Run from the top, careful to not flip on a strange overhead fold, or 2) slide in below the fold. Don't piton in here! Boily pocket at the bottom.
Portage above Energizer
Hike up to the Treeline on the left and hike downstream untill reaching a little tiny creek that goes back to the river. Follow this down and then you are at Energizer. To portage all of energizer, keep going further and then down once past Energizer.
Energizer
There are two main places to slide in, one at the top, and the other 50 yards down.
Portage below Energizer
Here get out on the left and simply slide down the bedrock on the left back into the pool below
Crappy Boulder Series
The first is boily move in the middle, and then there are piles of sharp rocks that have fallen in the river to navigate through. The bottom is a shallow slide.
Big Mank
You will come to this after a long flat straightaway. Portage the first little part and then slide in for a big slide into a rock on the left, followed by a 5 foot ledge and then a mad dash to avoid a boiling pin orkc in the center of the flow, driving left. The whole thing can be portaged right. The rapid then continues for another 150 yards of low quality bedrock.
Feeding Trough
This one gives alot of people and though it doesn't drop alot of gradient it is very fast and flipping over will result in bad consequences.
20 foot falls
Just slide off right of center with a little bit of right angle to avoid hitting a submerged promontory located just under the surface
40/40
This is the sickest rapid on the run and is rarely run. Portage left. It should be noted that the picture only shows the last 40 footer. You can barely see the top of the first one at the top of the picture
Landbridge
This rapid drops the most of any on the run, though even the ballsiest of boaters putin roughly halfway down, launching off the landbridge formation itself. There is also a spot to slide in below the landbridge
Wintergreen Falls
This is the big one, and it drops around 70 feet total. Down the middle of the first 30 feet, stay center out of the big bounces against the river left wall. Don't flip.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportOn November 30th, 2024, I decided to take my longboat (Dagger Vanguard) down the Toxaway for the first time. Oh my god was it a blast. I went so fast and the skips out of the big slides were unreal. I thought it was well worth it even with the gnarly portages and 2 mile hike out at Auger hole. Here's a video of the trip. Also added photos too :).
Video Link:
Hey i live below the condo's at the bottom of the falls and slide down them and go jump off some all summer but if anybody needs parking feel free to head down there's plenty of room. A good spot to get down there is go down behind the restraunt October's End and just keep heading downhill past the condo's and where it turns gravel and I'm the last house down there. If anybody has any questions about the river i'll help if I can.
Kevin says this regarding levels:
Date: Sep 08 2006, 14:12 GMT
From: overflow
In my humble opinion I would say -5 should be min. IF you are bored and just want to see it check it out. But at -6 it would be almost impossible to not use you hands on the rapids to push yourself over things. The very first rapid that you can see from the road we dried out on halfway down, so yea -5 min for us. We actually said we won't go back unless its at -4.
Sat April 2: Was low and snowing, we talked with Ranger who said he will propose a permit system that would be good for 6 mo or a year at a time. Said it was illegal to put-on, but he won't ticket because river left is not signed - yet. N.C. State Parks owns that land now courtesy of a donation by unnamed conservation organization. They will also look into habitat studies for rare salamanders, plants etc. to guard against conflict with boaters and reproduction cycles. Bottom line was, be discreet and let rangers know you'll be in there. Seems they have no 'policy' on boating Toxaway, and Raleigh has to define one. Ranger office is a short distance on 64 towards Cashiers on right (Gorges St.Park).
from boatertalk:
Southeast creeking history made today on Toxaway... New
Forum: BoaterTalk
Date: Mar 29 2005, 5:03 GMT
From: ChrisG
Well, today was definately one for the ages. Tonnes of rain last night put the Toxaway at an upper medium level today at the putin, and a pretty high level after some tribs dumped in downstream. The general mentality was that it would be too high, and we were going to head to Silver Run Falls on the Whitewater instead, but we got to the bridge and found a perfect, choice level on the Toxaway. We were late putting on, getting on the river about 3:00, but his highness Pat Keller decided to run the sickest rapid I've ever seen done, ever. Video or in person.
For those familiar with the river, you know that Toxaway Falls is an absolutely gigantic(like 120 ft total) drop, and is riddled with potholes at the bottom that would mean certain death. This drop has been passed by without regret by the world's best paddlers. We had one camera, my beater one-chip JVC, but Pat was feeling good so I got set up to film and do what I could do for him in case. He got to the seal launch at the top, and a cop runs up on the road and starts yelling at him... 'you're gonna die, don't run it!' Pat's like no I'm good man, and pushes off, the cop running to call the ambulance. The only possible line for the drop would be to boof a 20 footer, land in a hole, and drive all the way to the left with tonnes of speed to dry out and miss the potholes on the right and a huge backbreaking ledge on the left. About a 6 foot wide line off of 100 feet of near vertical granite with a burly rapid at the lip. He peeled out and immediately was pushed into the centre of the river and flew off the twenty-footer charging left. I don't think I've ever been so scared filming someone, but he made the line back to the very left, and rolled off of the top. After disconnecting and bouncing twice on the way down, he hit the kicker at the bottom at 200 million miles per hour and flew almost all the way across the pool, landing sideways. Disgusting!
From there, we got moving down the river at like 3:25, a bit late for a non-daylight savings run, but were able to make it to the trail in about three hours, filming every big drop. What a run!
-Chris Gragtmans
P.S.- To anyone paddling the Toxaway in the future, the cops caught us at the take out, and although they didn't fine us today, they said that there is a relicensing going on for Gorges State Park, and they will enforce a 125$ fine for running the river. That really sucks, but the ranger said that we can voice our concerns, and hopefully prove that there is enough interest in the river to keep it open. I'll post more about that in the future because it is an incredible river, and I want us to be able to paddle it legally.
The Toxaway is the BOMB. Is Wintergreen Falls the highest drop in the East? New
Forum: BoaterTalk
Date: May 15 2004, 19:59 GMT
From: TonyRobinson
First time down the Toxaway yesterday. Thanks for the show down Ted. The level was at the bottom of the 0 line. Those drops in there are huge and It's the most impressive river I've done in the East, but no one should be in there unless they are rock solid because you could get f**ked up bad with a terrible hike out. We were lucky yesterday. One of our party pitoned in the slot-slide above Energizer and could hardly walk for a while and others had to portage his boat. Then at Wintergreen he hit the left wall near the bottom, barrel rolled the last 30+ verticle feet. He was ejected and landed on his butt on the rocks at the bottom. After another mile of drops we got to the hike out road where he sucked it up and showed what a hardman he was as he hiked the 3 miles up hill out of the canyon in the dark with a sprained ankle, badly busted butt, while carrying his boat and all his gear.
Ted Hayes as the Energizer Bunny.
Energizer is one long rapid, here's Ted at the top end of this mega-flume.
Ted hits the bottom of Energizer - big hole here led to a few surfs in our group.
First run by Keith Backlund and ? in 1978 from below the big falls down. The run took over 3 days and involved multiple portages. Needless to say, they were boating the gorge in 13 foot long boats.