Tiger Creek
Lakemont to Tallulah River
| Difficulty | III |
| Length | 0.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 40 fpm |
| Gauge | Tallulah River Near Clayton, Ga |
| Flow Rate as of 16 minutes | 78 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 14, 2005 |
Tiger creek is a short but major tributary of the Tallulah River. This is where all of the water comes from for the middle section of Tallulah, because most of the river is diverted and dry. Tiger creek is basically a good alternate put in for the middle Tallulah.
That being said it has rapids that greatly exceed what would be expected for a run with 40 ft/mile gradient. The drops on Tiger Creek are all abrupt slides and ledges. Several of these are big enough to be exciting for most boaters but are not technically difficult.
Some landowners along this creek are not big fans of boaters so be aware that getting out on the banks is not an option. If you are fast and cruise down to the Tallulah it should be fairly simple to avoid altercations.
A big nearly vertical 10-15 foot waterfall slide with a angry private landowner on river right.
A nice slide past the unfriendly landowner.
Mar 26, 2022
Ran on 3/25/22 at 460cfs. Still a little low but a fun trip. There's a pine tree down about halfway into the run. The top of the tree extends across the river. It's between two rapids and around a blind turn with a small eddy above the tree. The water isn't moving extremely fast where the tree top is and you can go under it but its a little aggravating. Decent slide into a nice big wave immediately after the tree.
Mar 26, 2022
Ran Tiger Creek today. Combined the trip with upper Tallulah. Level was 460 cfs. Tiger creek a little lower than I would have liked at that level but a fun little run. I think 650-750cfs on the Tallulah gauge would be a little better to cover up the bony spots. A few surprisingly vertical ledges. Encountered two young guys fishing but they were nice.
Jun 10, 2018
We paddled this creek on 6/9/2018 for a change of pace. The gauge on this AW page read 383--please note that is a gauge for Tallulah River, not Tiger Creek itself which was running way less. But was still passable and enjoyable at that level, though probably a little more fun at a higher flow.
Angry landowners rapid was probably 8-10 feet and a bumpy slide. A little wood in the main line of that rapid that is easily avoided. No other real wood issues. However, about half way down the run there is a metal cable running between two trees and across the entire river. A big piece of tree trunk is stuck on it bring the cable to within 2 feet of the creek's surface. At higher flows, this could pose a real hazard to someone unaware it was there.
There are a couple surfing spots big enough to side surf and 360 in a Remix. Despite the name of the first rapid, we encountered only a fisherman and a pleasant landowner who was interested in exploring the creek in his lake kayak.
