Content
Request and receive flows on your mobile device via text message! Learn how at boatingbeta.com/tflows.
This page is available in WAP format. Check flows using your PDA or mobile phone using the url boatingbeta.com/wflows.
The following release schedules are available as Google calendars: Cheoah, Coosa, Gauley, Middle Ocoee, Upper Ocoee, Nantahala, Pigeon, Russell Fork, Tallulah, Tuckasegee, Upper Yough and The Full Monty (all eleven schedules). Visit boatingbeta Google Calendars to learn how to add release schedules to your personal Google calendar.
Runs and Levels
| Run | Class | Current Level | Reference Gage | Gage Quality & Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattooga, Section 3 | III (IV+) | 1.84 feet 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT  |
USGS: Chattooga | Excellent. Gage short distance downstream from take-out. Color codes: minimum = 1.5, medium = 1.9 - 2.4, too high = 3. |
| Chattooga, Section 3 | III (IV+) | 1.73 feet (estimated) 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT |
BoatingBeta.com: Chattooga River at 76 Bridge VG | Excellent. Converts USGS stage readings to stage readings on the Route 76 bridge paddler's gage a short distance downstream from the take-out. At 1.2 feet on the USGS gage the 76 Bridge Gage reads 0.9 feet; the discrepancy gets smaller as levels rise, with no discrepancy at levels above 2.2 feet. Color codes: minimum = 1.3, medium = 1.8 - 2.4, too high = 3. |
| Chattooga, Section 4 | IV-IV+ | 1.84 feet 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT |
USGS: Chattooga | Excellent. Gage short distance downstream from put-in. Color codes: minimum = 1.4, medium = 1.8 - 2.05, too high = 2.2. |
| Chattooga, Section 4 | IV-IV+ | 1.73 feet (estimated) 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT |
BoatingBeta.com: Chattooga River at 76 Bridge VG | Excellent. Converts USGS stage readings to stage readings on the Route 76 bridge paddler's gage a short distance downstream from the put-in. At 1.2 feet on the USGS gage the 76 Bridge Gage reads 0.9 feet; the discrepancy gets smaller as levels rise, with no discrepancy at levels above 2.2 feet. Color codes: minimum = 1.2, medium = 1.7 - 2, too high = 2.2. |
| French Broad, Alexander Wave | (II) Park and Play | 2160 cfs 06/17/2019 09:45 EDT  |
USGS: FB (Asheville) | Very Good. Gage several miles upstream. Above 3,000 cfs the wave gets bigger and bigger but it becomes difficult to impossible to get back to the staging eddy. Insufficient observations: Report your sessions! Color codes: minimum = 1800, medium = 2100 - 2700, too high = 3000. |
| French Broad, Barnard to Hot Springs (Section 9) | III (IV-) | 2400 cfs 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT |
USGS: FB (Marshall) | Excellent. Color codes: minimum = 700, medium = 1900 - 4000, too high = 10000. |
| French Broad, Bent Creek to Hominy Creek (Biltmore) | I-II | 2160 cfs 06/17/2019 09:45 EDT |
USGS: FB (Asheville) | Excellent. Color codes: minimum = 500, medium = 750 - 1200, too high = 1600. |
| French Broad, Ledges | (II) Park and Play | 2160 cfs 06/17/2019 09:45 EDT |
USGS: FB (Asheville) | Very Good. Gage several miles upstream. Insufficient observations: Report your sessions! Color codes: minimum = 1000, medium = 2500 - 4000, too high = 5000. |
| French Broad, Marshall to Barnard (Section 8) | I-II | 2160 cfs 06/17/2019 09:45 EDT |
USGS: FB (Asheville) | Very Good. Insufficient observations: Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = 500, medium = 750 - 1200, too high = 1600. |
| French Broad, Rosman to Bent Creek (multiple sections) | I | 845 cfs 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: FB (Blantyre) | Very Good. Color codes: minimum = 250, medium = 350 - 600, too high = 1100. |
| French Broad, Barnard to Hot Springs (Section 9) | III (IV-) | 2400 cfs 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT |
USGS: FB (Marshall) | Very Good. Major tributary enters river below PI (Big Laurel). Color codes: minimum = 1200, medium = 1900 - 4000, too high = 10000. |
| French Broad, Woodfin to Alexander (Section 6) | II | 2160 cfs 06/17/2019 09:45 EDT |
USGS: FB (Asheville) | Very Good. Insufficient observations: Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = 500, medium = 750 - 1200, too high = 1600. |
| Gauley, Upper | IV-V-- | 991 cfs (estimated) 06/17/2019 10:45 EDT |
BoatingBeta.com: Gauley River Below Summersville Dam VG | Very Good. Based on the rating table the USGS used as of 10/01/03 and stage readings from USGS gage at the put in. Alt: Army Corps of Engineers Summersville Lake Outflow. Scheduled releases occur in September and early October; unscheduled releases occur year round. Water takes no time to reach put-in. Annual calendar of scheduled Gauley releases. Color codes: minimum = 600, medium = 1100 - 3500, too high = 5000. |
| Gauley, Lower | III-IV+ | 1400 cfs 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT  |
USGS: Gauley Above Belva | Very Good. This gage measures the flow approximately four miles downstream of the take-out at Swiss. Scheduled releases occur in September and early October; unscheduled releases occur year round. Water takes approximately 4.5 hours to reach put-in. Annual calendar of scheduled Gauley releases. Color codes: minimum = 1000, medium = 1500 - 3500, too high = 5000. |
| Little Tennessee, Iotla to Lost Bridge | I-II | 935 cfs 06/17/2019 10:15 EDT |
USGS: Little Tennessee (Needmore) | Excellent. Gage near TO. Color codes: minimum = 230, medium = 500 - 1500, too high = 2500. |
| Little Tennessee, Lost Bridge to Fontana Lake | II+ | 935 cfs 06/17/2019 10:15 EDT |
USGS: Little Tennessee (Needmore) | Excellent. Gage near PI. Color codes: minimum = 350, medium = 500 - 2000, too high = 2500. |
| New River Gorge | III-IV | 6410 cfs 06/17/2019 10:45 EDT |
USGS: New (Thurmond) | Excellent. Gage moderate distance upstream of PI. Alt: Army Corps of Engineers New at Thurmond Has been run at least as low as 1000 cfs but gets very tight and shallow. Color codes: minimum = 1700, medium = 2440 - 7500, too high = 14000. |
| New River Gorge | III-IV | 3.34 feet (estimated) 06/17/2019 10:45 EDT |
BoatingBeta.com: New River at Fayette Station VG | Fair. Based on an old raft company rating table. Has been run as low as -2.3 feet but gets very tight and shallow. Color codes: minimum = -1, medium = 0 - 4, too high = 7. |
| Nolichucky, Big Rock | (II+) Park and Play | 1710 cfs 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: Nolichucky | Excellent The gage is located within minutes of the hole. Color codes: minimum = 400, medium = 550 - 650, too high = 900. |
| Nolichucky, Cowbell | (II) Mystery moves | 1710 cfs 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: Nolichucky | Poor. The Embreeville reading is an historical record of the flow at Cowbell eight hours earlier. Cowbell washed away in floods of 2004 but is coming back.%nbsp; Help dial it back in: Report your sinks! Color codes: minimum = 1000, medium = 1600 - 2800, too high = 4000. |
| Nolichucky, Gorge | III-IV | 1710 cfs 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: Nolichucky | Fair. The water takes about twelve hours to get from the put-in to the Embreeville gage. Color codes: minimum = 500, medium = 1500 - 2000, too high = 6000. |
| Nolichucky, Secret Spot | (II+) Park and Play | 2510 cfs 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT |
TVA: Below Nolichucky Dam | Excellent. Gage below dam, near park 'n play spot. Recently added to set of gages TVA reports. Color codes: minimum = 1200, medium = 2200 - 3300, too high = 4500. |
| Russell Fork of the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy, Gorge | IV-V | 288 cfs (estimated) 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: Russell Fork + USGS: Pound | Excellent. The gages that are combined to create this virtual gage are located approximately five (Pound) and seven (Russell Fork) miles upstream of the Garden Hole put-in. Alt: Army Corps of Engineers Russell Fork at Bartlick. This gage combines the Russell Fork and Pound River flows. It is located approximately three miles upstream of the Garden Hole put-in. Scheduled releases occur in October; unscheduled releases occur year round. Water takes approximately 2.5 hours to reach put-in. Annual calendar of scheduled Russell Fork releases. Color codes: minimum = 150, medium = 400 - 800, too high = 1500. |
| Swannanoa | I-II | 270 cfs 06/17/2019 10:00 EDT |
USGS: Swannanoa | Speculative. Color coding inspired guesswork. Insufficient observations: Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = 100, medium = 150 - 300, too high = 400. |
| Toe River Gorge, Toecane to Red Hill Bridge | II-III | 1710 cfs (Nolichucky) 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: Nolichucky | Fair. Red Hill bridge visual gage: min = 0, opt = 1-2'. Generally runs when the Nolichucky runs; Noli gage 40 miles downstream. Insufficient observations: Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = 800, medium = 1500 - 2000, too high = 6000. |
| Toe River, South Fork, Patience Mullindore Park to NC 80 Bridge | II (III) | 205 cfs 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: South Toe | Fair. Insufficient observations: Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = 150, medium = 300 - 800, too high = 1800. |
| Tuckaseegee, Devil's Dip | (II) Park and Play | 1310 cfs 06/17/2019 10:15 EDT |
USGS: Tuckasegee (Bryson City) | Excellent. Duke Energy provides 3 day generation schedules every morning. Water arrives about 13 hours after release. A release on either Fork provides water to Devil's Dip. Alt: Call 866-332-5253 (toll free) or 828-369-4559 for release information. When the water is too low Devil's Dip is sticky and shallow, with the potential to break paddles in the player's right side of the hole. From 700-2000 cfs it is a sticky hole, from 2,500-2,800 (the optimum) an excellent wave/hole, from 2,800-3,000 it is tricky to get to, and over 3,000 it is gone. Color codes: minimum = 700, medium = 2000 - 2800, too high = 3000. |
| Tuckaseegee, Dillsboro to Barker's Creek | II | 545 cfs 06/17/2019 10:15 EDT |
USGS: Tuckasegee (Barker's Creek) | Excellent. Gage a quarter mile or so above the take-out. An annual calendar of scheduled releases is available at Duke Power's Tuckasegee Recreation Flow Calendar (select Nantahala Area on the dropdown menu; the link will be on the right side of the page you are taken to). The calendar is color coded: Releases on the East Fork of the Tuckasegee are colored purple, come from the Cedar Cliff PH, and are generally 500 cfs; releases on the West Fork of the Tuckasegee are colored red, come from the Thorpe PH, and are generally 250 cfs. You will note that from late May to early September, the higher East Fork releases are frequently Wed, Thu and Sat, while the lower West Fork releases are frequently Tu, Fri, and Sun. Color codes: minimum = 250, medium = 500 - 750, too high = 1500. |
| Tuckaseegee, East Fork, Granny Burrel Falls to Rock Bridge (Upper Upper EF Tuckaseegee) | IV-V | 4.04 feet 06/17/2019 10:40 EDT |
AFWS: Rock Bridge SG | Fair. Thanks to Kirk Eddlemon for tracking this gage and working out the levels. Some of the color coding is still speculative, however, and it is always good to have more data: Report your runs! Note: AFWS gages can report sporadically. Here are links to the Rock Bridge hydrograph and Rock Bridge streamflow archive. Color codes: minimum = 2, medium = 2.3 - 3, too high = 4. |
| 0 inches (rain,12 hrs) 06/17/2019 11:00 EDT |
AFWS: Hogback RG | Speculative. Thanks to Kirk Eddlemon for tracking this gage and working out the levels. Except for the minimum the color coding is speculative, so Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = 1.5, medium = 2 - 2.25, too high = 3. | ||
| 0 inches (rain, 24 hrs) 06/17/2019 11:00 EDT |
AFWS: Hogback RG | Speculative. Thanks to Kirk Eddlemon for tracking this gage and working out the levels. Except for the minimum the color coding is speculative, so Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = 2, medium = 3 - 4, too high = 5. | ||
| Tuckaseegee, Ela to Bryson City | II | 1310 cfs 06/17/2019 10:15 EDT |
USGS: Tuckasegee | Excellent. Gage at TO. Alt: Call 866-332-5253 (toll free) or 828-369-4559 for release information. Color codes: minimum = 750, medium = 1250 - 3000, too high = 6000. |
| Tuckaseegee, Whittier to Ela | II (II+) | 1310 cfs 06/17/2019 10:15 EDT |
USGS: Tuckasegee | Fair. Gage well downstream of PI. Alt: Call 866-332-5253 (toll free) or 828-369-4559 for release information. Color codes: minimum = 750, medium = 1250 - 3000, too high = 6000. |
| Watauga Gorge | IV-V- | 209 cfs 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: Watauga | Very Good. Gage 2 miles upstream of PI. Color codes: minimum = 160, medium = 250 - 500, too high = 1200. |
| Wilson Creek, Gorge (flows) | IV | 1094.4 inches (estimated) 06/17/2019 10:10 EDT |
BoatingBeta.com: Wilson Creek at Adako Bridge VG | Re-estimation Needed. Based on flows measured at the Edgemont AFWS gage and 91 Adako Bridge visual observations reported between 11/19/09 and 3/13/2010. 86% of the predicted values were within +/- 1" of the actual values; 99% were within +/- 2". Because the Edgemont gage is located on Wilson Creek, this gage should be good year round. At high flows it takes approximately four hours for water to flow the 11.6 miles from the Edgemont gage to Adako bridge. The virtual gage takes this lag into account: the predicted flow at the bridge at any point in time is based on the flow at Edgemont four hours earlier. Note: The Edgemont gage appears to update only when the river level changes. To be safe, check the alternate gages when the timestamp is stale. Virtual gages require frequent re-estimation: Report your runs! Color codes: minimum = -6, medium = 0 - 6, too high = 12. |
| 94.45 feet 06/17/2019 10:10 EDT |
AFWS: Edgemont SG | Very Good. Located on Wilson Creek above the confluence with Gragg Prong/Lost Cove Creek -- eight miles upstream of the Gorge and 11.6 miles upstream of the Adako Bridge visual gage. At high flows it takes approximately four hours for water to flow from the Edgemont gage to the Adako bridge. The timestamp associated with this gage does not take this lag into account: what you see is the level at the Edgemont gage at the time reported in the timestamp. Note: The Edgemont gage appears to update only when the river level changes. To be safe, check the alternate gages when the timestamp is stale. Help maintain this gage: Report your runs! Note: AFWS gages can report sporadically. Here are links to the Edgemont (Wilson Creek) hydrograph and Edgemont streamflow archive. Color codes: minimum = 2, medium = 2.5 - 3, too high = 3.5. | ||
| 640 cfs 06/17/2019 10:15 EDT |
USGS: Johns River | Fair. It is best to look at sets of gages to determine if Wilson Creek is running. WC is a tributary to the Johns River; the Johns River USGS gage is located 7.5 miles downstream of the WC visual gage so flows on the Johns Creek gage are serveral hours behind flows on WC. If both the Watauga and Johns River gages indicate that WC is running it most likely is, and at a level close to that on the WC virtual gage. If, on the other hand, the Watauga is running at a healthy level and Johns River hasn't budged the rain may have fallen on the west side of the mountains and WC is dry. Color codes: minimum = 300, medium = 500 - 1600, too high = 2000. | ||
| 209 cfs 06/17/2019 10:30 EDT |
USGS: Watauga | Fair. When rainfall is widespread the Watauga is an amazingly good predictor of the level on Wilson Creek. Widespread rainfall occurs frequently in the Winter and Spring, less often in the Summer. Look at the WC rain gauges (is the rainfall widespread?) and the Johns River gage (is it rising?). If the answers to these questions are "no," go run the Watauga instead! Color codes: minimum = 170, medium = 280 - 370, too high = 600. | ||
| 78.5 cfs 06/17/2019 09:45 EDT |
USGS: Yadkin (Patterson) | Fair. The Yadkin is the next watershed north of Johns Creek. If rainfall is widespread and the Upper Yadkin is over 50 cfs WC is generally running; If, on the other hand, the Yadkin is indicating a good WC flow and Johns Creek is indicating a marginal flow there is a good chance the rain fell north of the WC watershed and WC is not running. Color codes: minimum = 50, medium = 150 - 250, too high = 350. |
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Flow Color Coding Key
| Color | Interpretation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
Note: assigning flow codes is highly subjective -- one person's "way too high" is another's "yahoo!" I have attempted to assign the codes relative to the typical person likely to boat the run at normal levels. "Too high" in this context means "the typical person found on this run at the levels it is most often paddled would find this run at this level very challenging." In general, runs are harder at higher levels. Use your discretion regarding the suitability of the run to your skill level and experience after seeing the level in person. |
||
| Too High | Beyond the envelope for the typical person likely to boat this run. | |
| High | Frequently run this high, but a stretch for the typical person likely to boat this run. | |
| Medium | Very enjoyable for the typical person likely to boat this run. | |
| Low | Frequently run this low. Worth a look but probably not a long drive. | |
| Too Low | Seldom run lower by anyone who isn't desperate and/or lives by the put-in. | |
| Don't Know | What's your opinion of this level? Email The River Gages Project. | |
Gage Quality Key
| Rating | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Excellent | Gage located on the reach near the run. Significant number of observations. |
| Very good | Gage located on the reach but a significant number of tributaries upstream or downsteam from the run, or gage based on rainfall or located on a proxy reach. Significant number of observations and strong correlation. |
| Fair | Gage located on the reach near the run but very limited number of observations; gage located on the reach but a significant number of tributaries upstream or downsteam from the run, or gage based on rainfall or located on a proxy reach. Limited number of observations and/or modest correlation. |
| Poor | Gage is based on rainfall or located on a proxy reach. Significant number of observations but weak correlation. |
| Speculative | Gage is based on rainfall or located on a proxy reach. Very limited number of observations or very weak correlation. |
