| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 2.9 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 50 fpm |
| Gauge | Rottenwood Cr at Interstate N Pkwy, Nr Smyrna, Ga |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 5 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 26, 2024 |
Gauge Description:
Visual from one of many bridge overpasses. (Delk, Terrill Mill, Windy Hill, Windy Ridge, Interstate North, I-285, and Akers Mill)
Rottenwood only runs after heavy rains, and runs off quickly. It can spike up and down over 1000 cfs in less than an hour.
November 2007: USGS now has an online gauge. It does not corelate with the Maxwell gauge. REPORT YOUR RUNS.
Update 9-01-2003- New Gauge:The gauge is on the Interstate North Parkway SE bridge. It is a painted gauge on the downstream side of the center set of pylons. It is best viewed from river right next to the large 'Interstate North Parkway 180' sign.
0 inchs - passable. This is around 200 cfs on the USGS gauge.
2 feet - padded.
3 feet - beefy
River Description:
Rottenwood has some fun whitewater rapids ; The Creek flashes quickly after the rain event and the water is often the color and consistency of a chocolate milk shake. The water quality is not always the best so use good judgement on protective gear.
The creek is easy to scout from the small hiking park. There is a very nice hiking trail along most of the creek now.
Akers Mill rapid can get into the class 4 range with higher flows.
Above Akers Mill is a nice ledge drop that resembles a low head dam at higher flows. Beware of the undercut left bank. This drop used to be called Confederate Life, named after the multi-story office building beside it. The building has since changed ownership, currently Ascent Insurance. See the Rapids tab for more detailed info.
A word of caution would be to watch out for the large (3 to 4 foot diameter) pipe toward the end of the run. At low flows water runs under the pipe, at flood water runs over the pipe. Last checked there was a lot of wood jammed on the upstream side of the pipe, and not much of an eddy above it. Most people carry around the pipe on river left.
...A double ledge drop. The left bank is undercut. At high flows this rapid creats a nasty riverwide hole, backed up by a second large hole. At higher flows it can be snuck down the right. At low flows you run down the meat on the left.
Nice little double ledge with a shallow playhole.
Just above the Akers Mill parking area is a riverwide pipe. At low flows it can be ducked under, at higher flows its a hazard with not much of an eddy above it.
After crossing under the I-285 interstate bridges the river turns to the right the back to the left. Scout Akers Mill Rapid on the left. The current is split by a large boulder. Beware or rebar in the approach to the rapid. The standard line is down the right. Continuous Class 3 water follow for the next quarter mile. There are two good play waves in this stretch.
Big riverwide sewer pipe. Lots of wood on the upstream side. Carry on the left.
The take-out is on river right at Palisades Park off of Highway 41.
Sep 25, 2015
a better view of the ledge hole undercut
Nov 1, 2006
Friday, Oct 27, three of us newbies gave Rottenwood a go. We believe the level was around 4 feet. We didn't make it as far as the gage. Confederate Life was a good Class II run on the river right line but a scary as hell looking line on river left that we figured might be a Class IV.
Due to some short sightedness on equipment we did not finish the run. One of our friends was in a recreational kayak and it soon became obvious it wasn't going to work in the fast current and constant action of a creek. I am also to blame as I did not have contacts in that evening and was wearing glasses that had quickly fogged up, so seeing what was coming next was proving difficult. We hiked out and decided to come back better prepared next time.
Also of important note, there is a tree across the river along with a good size pipe just 40 yards upstream of Insterstate North Parkway & 285. You can see both from the bridge where there is currently construction going on and the road formerly crossed the creek on this bridge. Friday night they were right at the level of the water and by Saturday morning the water level had dropped and they were 3-4 feet above the creek. I saw some eddies with fast upstream flows and creating whirlpools along the eddy lines.
We're regulars on Nantahala, love Cartekay, and have hit a few others like Chattooga 3.5 at lower levels but all of these are pool drop style rivers. I wanted to share this little story for others in our skill range thinking about stepping up a skill level the next time the water rises. Going there with inappropriate gear, without a guide and not bridge scouting first was foolish.
The next morning I parked at the Hooch and walked upstream. I was privy to some of the things we would have had to get through including this river wide strainer. The rocks and pour overs (that's the normal low level of the stream) and obstacles we missed down stream looked like fun but I had no regrets about our decision to walk out and come back another day.
UPDATE: Nov 16. The level was a little higher, I took some pictures and built up a webpage. Here is the link and I hope you'll learn from our lessons. :)
