Toccoa
Deep Hole Recreation Area to Sandy Bottoms
| Difficulty | I-II(III) |
| Length | 13.6 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Toccoa River Near Dial, Ga |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 271 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | October 4, 2006 |
River Description
The Toccoa and the Ocoee are the same river; it is the 'Toccoa' from its headwaters on the Blue Ridge in Georgia until it crosses north into Tennessee.
This is the official Forest Service 'Toccoa River Canoe Trail' which runs from Deep Hole campground down to Sandy Bottoms. Rapids are class I-II with one set in the middle that approaches class III. Butt Bridge and Toccoa Valley Campground offer alternate takeouts and shorter runs; 8 miles and 11 miles respectively. There is a good fisherman's parking lot on Dial Road about a mile below Butt Bridge - neither of the bridges afford great parking opportunities. There is NO access in the 5-mile wilderness section between Margret and Butt Bridge, so bring extra food & water, first aid kit, footgear etc and be prepared as if you were hiking the backcountry.
It's a spectacular all-day wilderness cruising section or 2-day overnighter and a good training run for intermediate paddlers. Spud kayakers will have not much fun as there are some very long stretches of slack water. Take the long boat if you are planning to kayak this one, or be prepared to do a lot of tedious wallowing along. There is no park-and-play worth mentioning on this reach.
The river runs close along state highway 60 a couple miles from Deep Hole to the town of Margret, then heads west into the National Forest around the back side of Tooni Mountain. The next few miles are dense wilderness with no easy access in or out. Midway, the Benton MacKaye hiking trail crosses the river over a suspension footbridge. A set of class II-III drops separated by wide eddies starts under the bridge and continues for a couple hundred yards through a shallow gorge. This rapid is known locally as 'the Margret Drifts' - look out for driftwood. You may not notice the bridge coming up until you are there, due to thick woods, but it can be spotted if you look ahead as you approach down a long westerly straightaway. Find the clearings along the right or left
...River Features
Deep Hole Campground
Located about halfway between Blue Ridge and Suches on Georgia Highway 60. Park in the designated area on the right just before you enter the campground. The boating access ramp is right around the corner. $3 per vehicle parking fee.
Margret Drifts (Swinging Bridge)
A series of ledges with interesting, Chattooga-like channels. Some pretty good play spots. Optimum line is to enter close to the right bank, then work across the ledges to the final chute on river left. Plenty of eddies.
Sandy Bottoms
Nice dedicated canoe/kayak access point with parking, access ramp and outhouse. Follow the yellow FS signs on Dial Road from Highway 60 to get to Sandy Bottoms. $3 FS parking fee charged.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportGreat trip yesterday!
5 of us made the paddle from Deep Hole to Doublehead gap yesterday. Flow was perfect at about 970cfs. Be careful there are four trees completely accross the river. The first is just after the fish hatchery bridge, then another just a little bit down past there, then another a half mile down and the last just after you enter the National Forest area before the swinging bridge. We portaged all four of the strainers.
I guess finding useful, relialbe information on the internet isn't hopeless after all.
At 228-250 cfs, will this be a miserable ride in a kayak?
I'm planning a trip for May 17th or 18th. Is anyone else going to be on the river then?
Sam
i am thinking of paddling this when i take a trip up to the area in a few weeks. if anyone can answer a few questions i have, it would be great.
my basic questions are what kind of boat do i need to paddle this? i have a canoe, is that sufficient (assuming 400 CFS)
A canoe should be fine. A canoe with a keel might not be the best choice, but even that should be OK, as long as you have some river experience (the keel makes it difficult to quickly turn the canoe - very important in fast water). 400cfs is fine, any less and I'd think twice, expecially if you've never done this section before. I've done it at 335, but it wasn't fun. If you put in at Deep Hole by 9 am, you'll make it to Sandy Bottom in plenty of time to make it to the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant for an early dinner. Please remember that you will be out in the wilderness for most of the trip. No cellphone service, and a VERY long hike. Take friends in a second canoe in case you have problems. But definately worth the trip!
Sam
Kayaked from Deep Hole to Sandy Bottoms over the weekend with friends and had a great run. Thanx to heavy rains recently the river was well over 900cfs...probably closer to 1000cfs. Not much time to relax as the water was moving pretty quick almost the entire way. The 5-6 hour trip most people report took us less than 4 hours from launch to packed up and driving back to the campground....and we stopped for lunch at the suspension bridge. This was my first run on the Toccoa so I'm not sure what it's normally like but at this level it's fast and choppy almost the whole way. You will want to stop at the suspension bridge and check out the rapids downstream. We started just to the right of center as we crossed under the bridge and crossed to river left in order to avoid a rather intimidating rapid on the right. That was as far as we could see from the bridge. There are plenty of rapids beyond your line of sight from the bridge but with this flow all lines seemed pretty good. At this level I don't really think this run is good for a beginner unless you have a really stable boat and someone experienced along to help out. I don't think there were any really tricky spots or dangerous rapids but if you flip the swift current makes it difficult to get to shore, retrieve lost gear or even find a dry spot to empty your boat and get back in again. With that said, the 5 of us had a great run, although, everyone agreed it would have been nice if the flow was down a bit so that there was time to just float and enjoy the scenery. For those interested...we paddled 2 Dagger Crossfires, 2 Wilderness Systems Tsunamis and an Old Town recreation kayak.
Paddled Dial Bridge to Shallowford Bridge May 24, took around 2 hours. Probably 350-375 cfs. There are a couple of small ledges (2 ft.) that were fun to navigate in a canoe.
Ran it on 5/15 at a little under 500 cfs. Very nice, smooth all the way except for the one tree accross the river just above the Drifts. Got to see some great wildlife this time too - turtles, trout, and even a bald eagle. Got to see some trouser trout as well. Now is a great time to run this river while the water is still up. - Austin
Sorry Wesley, I didn't see your note until we returned. I hope you were able to go.
My group put in at Deep Hole on Tuesday, May 5th, with the water level around 500 cfs. Within 100 yards, the other canoe had already flipped (yes, we laughed). After we got them emptied out and going again, the dangers still lurked. About 30 minutes later, a goose, apparently upset at us for doing nothing more than drifting with the current, decided to charge the other boat (same guys that had just gotten dunked). We assumed it had a nest nearby, but we didn't see it.
We managed to escape the clutches of the angry waterfowl, and continued our journey. There was one downed log a short distance before the swinging bridge, but due to the higher water levels, we managed to slide across the top of it (along the left side). At normal water levels, I'm sure it will be a problem.
We stopped at the Swinging Bridge for lunch, and also noted the 'No Camping' signs on the left bank. We did not check the right bank. We scouted the shoals, both from atop the bridge and along the left bank. The second canoe was fairly inexperienced, and they were concerned about making it through safely, so they decided to portgage around. My partner and I decided to give it a shot, and somehow made it through with our dignity intact.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful, other than enjoying the rapid water flow (we averaged about 4.8mph for the entire trip). We did encounter an unmarked cable strung across the river about 3/4 of the way to Sandy Bottom. At normal river levels, it won't be a problem, but anything a foot or two higher than we had and it might catch an unsuspecting canoist in the head.
I warned the second canoe as we approached the takeout at Sandy Bottom, and suggested they stay close to the right bank (the water gets a little bumpy for the last 100 yards, and if you're on the left bank, you might have difficulty reaching the takeout). Sure enough, they blasted though a chute, and managed to turn sideways on a rock, swamping the canoe again! I laughed so hard I cried.
Due to the high water levels, we managed the trip in four hours exactly. We all had a wonderful trip (except for the bruised egos in the second canoe!) and can't wait to plan another trip.
Sam