Looking for going for actual decent rapids, not some lame its a small world river ride.

6/8/2009 9:17:23 PM

oregon

6/8/2009 9:20:42 PM

The New in WVa is pretty nice, but if you can wait until the fall, the Gauley is a fair amount better.

I think the Cheoah in NC is pretty nice as well, but I wanna say they have a really limited run schedule.

6/8/2009 9:25:16 PM

http://www.usnwc.org/

6/8/2009 10:03:48 PM

new and the gauley are the best in the area, IMO

in any case, paging Beardawg61

6/8/2009 10:17:39 PM

the Ocoee in TN is fun. Lots of class III and IV rapids. It has been years since I've been so I can't tell you much about it other than its a dam release river.

6/8/2009 10:57:21 PM

paging Beardawg61

he doesnt post much but he's still on every now and then. he's the guy to talk to

and fuck the ocoee unless you're at least remotely experienced.
i'm thinking the nantahala fits the bill

6/8/2009 11:36:19 PM

The French Broad is where I started out

6/9/2009 12:31:04 AM

Quote :

"The New in WVa is pretty nice, but if you can wait until the fall, the Gauley is a fair amount better."

6/9/2009 12:36:49 AM

i had a fun time at the new and the chattooga when i used to go rafting more often

6/9/2009 12:37:08 AM

Quote :

"new and the gauley are the best in the area, IMO"

6/9/2009 12:50:17 AM

try thd nanahala or the white water center in charlotte. I went to the first one a while back and it was fun. thd second one I haven't been to but have heard good things about

6/9/2009 12:51:02 AM

I did the New a few years ago for 4th of July weekend. Good stuff.

6/9/2009 4:57:37 AM

It's been mentioned, but a third or fourth time can't hurt...

The best 'actual decent rapids' would be the Gauley (specifically the upper) during the releases which start Sept. 11th and go for the next 6 weekends, all four day weekends Fri-Mon except for the last one. Last time I was there with friends we ran the marathon on the Gauley, long but great day. A really fun weekend to go would be during Gauley Fest: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/aw:events_gauley which is one of the main fundraisers for American Whitewater, great music, free beer, in general a great time.

The New is a great stand by as well. Bridge Day: http://www.wvbridgeday.com/ is a cool weekend to go.

Writing this really made me wish I was going to be able to go this year, I love the that area, especially the climbing. Sad to hear that Pies & Pints closed down, just as good as Lilly's Pizza. I heard the place that replaced it is also good but haven't been there yet.

[Edited on June 9, 2009 at 5:34 AM. Reason : .]

6/9/2009 5:09:16 AM

Quote :

"and fuck the ocoee unless you're at least remotely experienced. i'm thinking the nantahala fits the bill"

Is this sarcasm? The nantahala is a Sunday afternoon nap followed by some cold water to wake you up at the end.

6/9/2009 7:46:29 AM

We did the Nolichucki this last weekend and had a blast. They said it had several class 4s and a handful of class 3 rapids, but nothing seemed too scary to me, so I don't know how it compares to other rivers.

6/9/2009 8:24:59 AM

Beardawg61 took Z and I rafting on the ocoee for our first time. It was GREAT. I wish I could go again

I have been looking into the whitewater PE course, and they take a trip to the New river.

6/9/2009 8:38:17 AM

Nantahala would be a snooze fest in a raft. It's fun to tool around on in a single person duckie tho and you can run it more than once in a day.

The Gauley is your best bet for nuts in your stomach rapids (bunch of Class Vs and a couple Class V+ I think), but you have to wait until the releases in the fall as mentioned above. Try to arrange to get an experienced guide in whatever outfitter you go with. It makes the experience a lot better when you're not shitting your wetsuit when your noob guide steers you backwards into that hole you were trying to avoid. This is what happened to us last time we went...dude got us caught between rocks on Sweets Falls and we went swimming. Not fun when temps are in the 30's.

If you don't want to wait until then I'd say do the New. Little more tame, but still fun.

6/9/2009 9:06:19 AM

Any of the aforementioned French Broad, Ocoee, New, & Nolichucki are pretty good. I don't know much about the Gauley, so I can't comment on that one.

One thing to consider is the level of rapids depend on rainfall. The rapids will be higher in the fall or spring normally because they get more rain then. Obviously that's not always the case though.

6/9/2009 9:07:39 AM

I'm heading to Nothern GA this summer for vacation. I am planning on a white water rafting.

http://www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=10847

6/9/2009 9:10:31 AM

The Lower New River in West Virginia is going to offer some of the biggest East Coast whitewater available, especially if you go at the right time of year. If you go as soon as the season starts, particularly during a nice spring thaw, the size of the rapids on the Lower New river can get absolutely ridiculous. The whitewater on the Upper New is not nearly as big as the Lower New (It's more of a beginner/elderly/children's section , although it's still better than something like the Nantahala IMO), so I highly suggest the Lower New River. I'm pretty sure the Lower New has some Class V rapids (At least one IIRC) and it has plenty of Class III's and some Class IV's though and the waves tend to be huge in the early spring, so even if the rapid isn't a class V+ it can still be a blast.

If you want more technical whitewater (This still includes big whitewater, but also includes more dangerous/technical rapids that are Class V and V+) you can try the Gauley River. Both sections of the Gauley are serious, but the upper is moreso. Of course, your experiences on the Gauley should be more consistent than the New because you can go during dam releases. The flow of water is controlled by the dam on the Gauley and the release ensures big water during your rafting trip, whereas with the New River it can be mild or downright ridiculous depending upon when you go and what the weather conditions have been during the time leading up to your rafting trip. I know of a few people who ended up essentially having the Lower New River to themselves on one trip because the rapids got so nasty after a major spring thaw that most companies canceled their voyages down the river for that weekend. Apparently that trip was insane and included some of the biggest whitewater that the people I knew had ever seen. The Lower New is definitely no joke.

In the past I've had good experiences with Ace Whitewater btw, but it's been a ridiculously long time since I've been up to WV to go rafting so they might suck balls now.

6/9/2009 12:13:02 PM

check out http://www.class-vi.com/ if you're interested in the lower new or gauley. i've gone through them a handful of times, and always had a blast.

and if you stay at their campground, there's a shuttle that'll take you to/from the local strip joint.

6/9/2009 1:10:23 PM

I went rafting on the Ocoee last summer and it was great. It was the first time I ever went rafting and I'm actually surprised my arms weren't killing me from rowing at the end. There are tons of companies up there that will take you, I went with the "Ocoee River Rats" and they did a really good job. I can't remember the prices, but there was one package that they took you halfway up the river on a bus and you rafted back, and a bigger and better one that took you all the way up like 10 miles or something. They provided lunch too, it was nice. There were obviously lots of action spots with rapids but a number of kind of calm areas too where we just jumped off the raft and floated with our life jackets alongside it to cool off.

6/9/2009 3:42:35 PM

Pies and Pints closed! That is horrible. I was there last May. They had moved to a new location. Visiting the gorge will not be the same without pies and pints!

I second Class VI

[Edited on June 9, 2009 at 11:20 PM. Reason : Class VI]

6/9/2009 11:16:30 PM

we were going to go rafting here in Glacier Nat'l Park, but the water is just a hair above freezing and it's 40 degrees and snowing...so...no

looks like it'd be awesome though

6/9/2009 11:56:07 PM

^^I'm hoping my source was wrong and mistook moving as closing.... When I tried checking http://piesandpints.net website yesterday it wouldn't load, but it loaded today.... so that's a good sign. I don't want to spread incorrect information.

6/10/2009 8:59:01 AM

Quote :

"Nantahala would be a snooze fest in a raft."

it is

6/10/2009 10:46:59 AM

yeah last time i did it i was like 13 and went down in a canoe so i guess it can't be all that fun

6/10/2009 12:51:44 PM

how was the big rapid at the end in the canoe

it was cake in the raft

6/10/2009 1:07:54 PM

Honestly if you want to raft or do anything mountain related, go West. If you can afford it, check out rafting trips in Colorado or Utah.

6/10/2009 1:54:03 PM

So me and 5 friends are rafting the Upper and Lower Gauley rapids on September 13th. 2 of them have been before and have said it was the most intense experience of their lives. I've only been rafting twice (both times on the Nantahala, which was very tame). I plan on going to the Whitewater Center in Charlotte before the trip to get a little practice on some Class III-IV. I'm excited about the Gauley, but a little nervous based on the video footage I've seen on some of the Class V+ rapids (Pillow rock, Iron Ring, Sweet's Falls, etc). I also know that there have been a few deaths on the Gauley before as well (although probably from doing something stupid).

Anyone that has ran the Gauley before have any advice, tips, or stories to share?

8/24/2009 4:37:31 PM

following up on my rapid's trip from my previous post.

It was a blast. Pretty intense. Wouldn't take any old people if i were you.

We went down the Ocoee river in TN, right on the other side of Murphy, NC.

We used these outfitters: http://www.ocoeerafting.com/

I have some pictures, PM me if you wanna see them. They also have a 3 hour rafting thing you can take down the Olympic circuit. Which i think is a class 5 or so.

8/24/2009 4:41:58 PM

Green River Narrows

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Photo/detail/photoid/18557/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E72XNHR1vdk

8/24/2009 5:02:11 PM