Warrior, Locust Fork
1) CR 1 (Five Points Rd) to US Route 231
| Difficulty | II |
| Length | 10.1 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 20 fpm |
| Gauge | Locust Fork Near Cleveland, Al. |
| Flow Rate as of 15 minutes | 2.32 ftlow runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 11, 2018 |
River Description
Flow Information
For this section to be 'fun' (from a whitewater enthusiast point of view) minimum is 3.' For those looking for something to paddle, John Foshee states this section can be run all the way down to 1.5.'
River Description
The putin on CR 1 (Five Points Rd) has been known to have car break-ins, so be aware.
Described by John Foshee as a 'pretty stretch of the Locust' and a nice prelude to the whitewater section by 'gradually leading you from shallow shoals to harder shoals to rapids.' The first 4.8 miles are pretty flat. When you see a large island and a small island, the 5 foot waterfall is coming up. First timers, and at high-water, land on river right to scout. Similar to Powell Falls, the right side forms a stair step and the left side is more of a vertical drop. At higher water a pretty bad recirculating hydraulic develops here and it may be best to portage.
At mile 6.6 is the Graves Creek confluence. Around mile 8 you'll find yourself at Kings Bend which is the sight of the annual Locust Fork Invitational and Classic races. There are a series of shoals next to a rock bluff on river right which make for a scenic paddle through this section. Just below the 'slalom shoals' is King's Hole, about a 1.5' drop which makes a great playspot. The take out for this section at mile 10.2 is on RIVER RIGHT. Park your shuttle vehicle on the old road bed. This is the put in for the 'whitewater' section. Like most takeouts in Alabama, it's short but steep. *The river left side at the take-out is off limits to everyone. The owner is not friendly to trespassers. Use river right!*
Race Information - Locust Fork Invitational and Locust Fork Classic
Races are held in February and March each year. Events include Slalom, Boatercross and Downriver. For more information visit: http://www.alabamacupraces.com/ind
...River Features
Put In
Put In on Cold Branch Road
5 Foot Waterfall
Depending on the waterlevel, may want to scout this one.
King's Hole
Take Out
Take out at the old Highway 79/231 bridge.
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportJanuary 12, 2014. Water level 4' / 1300 cfs on the Cleveland gauge. Judging from other comments and pictures of the river, at this water level a lot of rocks and other obstacles are completely underwater, making the paddle more of a point-and-shoot affair rather than one requiring much manoevering, but there were quite a few (8-10) rapids that with the potential to swamp an open boat.
Put-in on 5-Points RD (aka New Cold Branch RD) N34° 2.5957', W86° 29.6243'
From the put-in to the falls was easy; the current was swift, but the channel was wide open, with only a few ~1' high waves in the faster sections.
Powell Falls: 4.86 miles down. N34° 3.5077', W86° 32.6007' (This point is the lip of the falls on river right, the point of no return) We portaged on river right. We lowered the boats down a 3' ledge into the pool below the falls and climbed into them from the ledge, but had a very hard time getting past the eddy at the bottom. It was making a whirlpool 20'-30' across with a 6' depression in the center.
The next 1/4 mile below the falls had 2 rapids; at the lower one the channel constricted to about 1/2 the average river width.
Rapid: Mile 9.32, N34° 1.4853', W86° 34.1166' This was the 3rd most difficult spot, after the two rapids below the falls. It was about a 1.5' drop at this water level, with a couple of 2' waves at the bottom. (Enough of a wave to give a noticeable blow on the chest as it washed over my bow.)
Possible Strainer: Mile 9.86 N34° 1.149', W86° 34.252'
About 1/3 mile before the takeout; it was almost dark when I came to it, so I couldn't see it clearly, but it looked like a 2' dia tree most of the way across from mid-channel to the left bank. It's towards the bottom of an island, which was flooded at the time, so I as able to paddle to the right, over the island (through the trees), and around it.
Take-out: Mile 10.21 N34° 1.418', W86° 34.410'
This is where the red bull ramp will be set up, also where the huge party, live band, b-b-q, raffle, and silent auction will be held. The playhole rodeo is just downstream.