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Big Pigeon River
Gorge, NC/TN
(Big Creek to Hartford) |
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| Character: |
Very playable intermediate run |
| Scenery: |
Attractive, with only occasional signs of
the nearby interstate highway |
| Distance from Downtown
Asheville: |
65 minutes |
| Length: |
4.7 miles |
| Season: |
Scheduled releases from Memorial Day to
Labor Day (see schedule below); unscheduled releases year
round |
| Other sections: |
Pigeon
Dries, several sections upstream of the Dries as described in
Bob and David Benner's Carolina
Whitewater: A Canoeist's Guide to the Western Carolinas |
| Put-in: |
Parking area at the confluence with Big
Creek |
| Take-out: |
On river right a little ways down the
river right channel around an island in Hartford, TN |
| Directions from Asheville
(to take-out): |
I-40 West to the second TN exit (Exit 447,
Hartford). Turn left at the exit's stop sign, pass under the
I-40 bridge and come to a Tee (stop). There is a bunch of raft
company parking here -- don't use it! Turn left and park along
the river (right) bank away from buildings and official parking
areas. Some times, USA Raft will allow private boaters to park
in the grassy meadow upstream of their facility (ask first!).
Most raft companies will give you a lift back to the put-in in their
buses on a space available basis if you sign a waiver first.
(Hint -- go into the registration area 1st and sign a waiver -- then
ask for a ride). Many busy days you can hitch a ride back
faster than getting a bus ride. The Pigeon, like the Nantahala
and the Ocoee, is a reasonable location for a successful single car
trip. |
| Shuttle: |
Return to I-40 and head east to the
first TN exit (Exit 451, Waterville). Turn left at the bottom
of the ramp, pass under I-40, follow the road over the bridge, and
then turn left and head upstream to the parking area at the
confluence with Big Creek. |
| Other access points: |
A road follows the river-left bank the
first mile and a half of the run; emergency access is possible
in many places from the interstate highway following high above the
run on river-right. |
| Camping: |
If it is open and you can snag a spot, the
Big Creek campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a
couple miles up the road from the take-out. There are only
twelve campsites and they're very nice, so they're in high demand.
Another option is the campground at Cataloochee, which can be
reached from both the road over the low-water bridge at the put-in
and a right turn off the road from the take-out to the Big Creek
Campground. The Cataloochee campground is a little larger
(twenty-seven sites), so the odds of getting a site are a little
better. Also fairly close is the Cosby campground, which is
much larger than either the Big Creek or Cataloochee campgrounds
(175 sites). All three campgrounds are open from mid-March to
the beginning of November; the Big Creek and Cataloochee
campgrounds are $12 per site per night, and the Cosby campground is
$14. For more information visit the NPS's
Great Smoky Mountains Camping Page. |
| Gradient: |
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Average: |
33 fpm average |
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By mile: |
4.7 miles:
36, 34, 34, 30, 29 fpm over last 0.66 miles |
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Maximum: |
37 fpm (over 0.94 miles) |
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Maximum half mile: |
37 fpm |
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Maximum mile: |
36 fpm |
| Guides |
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Online: |
American
Whitewater's Pigeon Gorge Page |
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Print: |
Bob and David Benner's Carolina
Whitewater: A Canoeist's Guide to the Western Carolinas |
| Maps: |
MapQuest
Map (the star is located at the put-in) Re-center on the
star and zoom in for a good look at the shuttle and the roads to the
Big Creek and Cataloochee campgrounds. |
| Photos: |
Big Pigeon Photo Archive |
| Other: |
Be sure to check in with Cocke County
Constable "Mac" McRae in the booth at the put-in when you
paddle on scheduled release days. His job is to count the
number of boaters, and under the terms of CP&L's license, the
greater the number of boaters, the greater the number of scheduled
releases in future years. Mac is an elected official and very
supportive of whitewater boating's effect on the local economy.
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| From Memorial Day to Labor Day, CP&L schedules
regular releases from their Walters power plant into the Pigeon
River Gorge. Water is usually released Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Saturday from 12 noon to 6 pm; this can be
confirmed by calling 800-899-4435. Because the put-in is just
below the dam, the river can be run almost immediately after the
river is "turned on." The current drought conditions
could prevent some scheduled releases, so it is not a bad idea to
call for confirmation.
Unscheduled releases occur throughout the year whenever power is
generated. Unscheduled releases are subject to change and
often are not announced on the 1-800 number. One option
for catching unscheduled releases is to monitor the online gauge
located just downstream of the power plant (Big
Pigeon at Waterville); another is to call the power plant
at 828-486-5965.
The standard recreational release is the minimum CP&L is
allowed, 1,200 cfs. Natural flow generally adds at least 100
cfs to this. 2000 cfs is optimum, and if more than 2200-2400
cfs is flowing, extra water is coming in from Big Creek and/or the
Pigeon Dries. I've heard of people running the Gorge as low as
300 cfs but have never done so myself.
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