The Very Best of Western N.C.

Day 1 — Meet at Cable Cove Campground at noon. Meet and greet, then set up base camp. Around 3pm we will go out for our first paddle on the Lake. Greg we help out any newer paddlers with basic kayak instruction. Our group will return around 5:30pm for happy hour and dinner.

Day 2 — 7am coffee, 8am breakfast, 9am leave out for our first big day of paddling. Today we will be making a 10 mile round trip paddle to Eagle trip. Upon reaching Eagle creek we will have a picnic lunch, swim in the cool creek, then have the opportunity to hike a few easy miles. We will return to camp around 4pm. 6pm will be happy hour followed by dinner.

Day 3 — 7am coffee, 8am breakfast, 9am depart for Franklin and the Little Tennessee River. A little bit of a drive and some time to set up a shuttle, but what a reward! 14 miles of nice easy class 1 rapids (shoals). We will float this river taking lots of time to swim in the holes and shoals, practicing shooting rapids, and playing on the monkey bridge. Lunch will be a riverside picnic. We should arrive back to our basecamp near 5-6pm. Dinner and happy hour soon afterwards.

Day 4 — 7am coffee, 8am breakfast, 9am depart for the Nantahala River. This bouncy, easy, cold, class 3 whitewater is a joy to paddle. We will rent 5-6 person rafts and head down as a group. Lunch will be a riverside picnic. On the drive back to basecamp we can make a short detour to Joyce Kilmer memorial forest and hike into the giant virgin popular trees. We will return to camp by 6pm where dinner will be served!

Day 5 — 7am coffee, 8am breakfast, 9am depart to Hazel Creek via Lake Fontana. This is about an 8 mile round trip paddle. We will paddle as far up Hazel Creek as possible then hike to my favorite waterfall and swimming hole. Only brave souls jump in without checking the water temperature first. Think recently melted glacier water, seriously! We will take time to explore the old homesteads, sawmills, and farm equipment left behind in the ghost town of Proctor. We will return to happy hour, dinner, and camp by 5pm.

Day 6 — 7am coffee, 8am breakfast, 9am departure to the little town of Needmore to paddle the lower section of the little Tennessee River. Today lots of little shoals make up the river as we pass homesteads, farmlands, mountains, and the Nantahala National Forest. We will also pass fish damns that were made thousands of years ago by the Cherokee people. Lots of time will spent swimming, fossil hunting, and just floating this amazing stretch of river. If we have time at the end of the day we will drive to the base of Fontana Dam for an intense swim in fast moving water. Dinner will be at the café located at the Fontana Resort. Everyone is responsible for their own meal.

Day 7 — 7am coffee, 8am breakfast, 9am river time! Folks wanting another day of paddling can stick around and paddle the lake or join me on the Tuckasegee river. This is a class 2+ river meant for experience paddlers that are comfortable upside down, backwards, and hauling butt downstream. Rafts can be rented.

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Accommodations will be frontcountry camping. This means swimming to stay clean and a vault toilet when nature calls. There are showers and flush toilets 3 miles away at the dam’s visitor center. There is no electricity and very little cell service.

All meals will be prepared by your guides and served to you by the guides. If you have a dietary restriction, please let us know in advance.

Meals, permits, kayaks, all kayaking gear, two Adventure in Florida guides, and whitewater rafting on the Nantahala.

This trip is geared for all levels of paddlers. Instruction will be given prior to paddling each day. Participants should be in good physical condition and at least twelve  years of age. We will paddle between 6-8 miles per day. This translates into two to four hours on the water. When the group is not paddling there will be optional hikes, swims, and side paddling trips. Participants wanting to just hang out and relax in camp are encouraged to do so.