Little
1. Hwy 35 to Upper Two(Suicide Section)
| Difficulty | IV-V |
| Length | 3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Little River Near Blue Pond Al |
| Flow Rate as of 32 minutes | 46 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 2, 2017 |
LITTLE RIVER CANYON
Little River is the premier whitewater river in Alabama. What makes it so good? Maybe it’s the incredible 10 mile long sandstone canyon it rumbles through, it could be the drinkable blue green water, and it is definitely the large distinctive rapids that crowd this run. Located atop Lookout Mountain just outside of Fort Payne AL, the canyon is divided by boaters into four sections, the Lower Canyon [ III-IV ], the Upper Mile [ IV ], the Upper Two [ IV-V ], and the Suicide Section [ IV-V ].
This is a large free flowing river with numerous side creeks that also contain quite a bit of quality whitewater. The natural flow often dries up to a trickle in the summer ,but in normal wet winters it will run from early winter all the way into May. It can run sporadically in the summer ,coming up on decent thunderstorms.
HISTORY
Canoeist began running the canyon in the 60’s. The lower canyon was a common destination for southeastern boaters through out the 70’s, though at that time it was considered “an expert run”. The upper canyon was considered unrunnable by the boaters who drove along side it on the winding canyon rim road on the way to the chairlift put-in. These early pioneers must have scouted the numerous big drops that can be seen from the overlooks with fear and anticipation.
Around 1972 or 73 a group from GA Tech made an exploratory run of the upper section. Even though no one was killed, many of the lower canyon regulars considered it a “suicide run”. The name stuck and is with us to this day.
SUICIDE SECTION
The Suicide Section is indeed aptly named. No matter how many times I’ve run this, I always feel a little apprehensive at the put-in. The run is full of sieves, siphons, undercuts, and slots that you don’t want to go down. Many rapids have alternate routes that are seldom or never run. In addition to that there isn’t really an “easy” water level. At lower levels the run many of th
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The first riverwide ledge and the last point for an 'easy' hike back to the put-in.
May 17, 2009
Running the falls in the town of Remsen, level was low for the creek but good for the falls.
