Planning a long weekend with three days of paddling on the southeast's premier Wild and Scenic River. The Chattooga starts in North Carolina and becomes the border of Georgia and South Carolina. It is protected from riverside development, logging , and farming and is a beautiful experience. Section 2 is class 2. Section 3 is class 3 (couple of fours that you can carry.) Section 4 is class 3-4 finishing with class 4-5 Five Falls. So there is something for everyone. Weather and level are typically good in early May.
I reserved four spaces that can each accommodate up to two vehicles, two tents, and eight people. $30 per site for both Friday and Saturday night or $15 for one vehicle & tent combo. This campground is in South Carolina in Sumter National Forest. Sites are near the restrooms that have a hot shower.
Please make your plans. It is about 450 miles from Richmond and 400 miles from Roanoke.
O.C.T. Chattooga River May 3 - 5
Moderators: admins, GinnyN, mod1, mod3, Raymond, slo2rol, mod2
O.C.T. Chattooga River May 3 - 5
Last edited by David on Sat Feb 16, 2013 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
Cherry Hill Campground
Cherry Hill Campground
Sumter National Forest, South Carolina
REGION: Southern
RANGER DISTRICT: Andrew Pickens
NEAREST CITY/TOWN: Walhalla
RESERVATIONS: 1-877-444-6777 or make on-line reservation
I have reserved 4 campsites. Each has up to two tents, two vehicles, 8 people.
DIRECTIONS:
From Walhalla, SC, take State Rt. 28 (Highlands Hwy.) west for 7
miles to State Rt. 107. Turn onto Rt. 107 and go 8.7 miles to
campground sign. Turn right at sign into campground.
GENERAL COMMENTS:
The elevation 2,120 ft.
The campground is situated in mature mixed woods with azaleas and
rhododendrons throughout. Walk-in tent sites are located just to
left of campground entrance (top of hill); there are no immediate
toilet facilities for them. Remaining sites are at bottom of
hill.
SEASONS
Open Seasonal: Yes
Open All Year: No
Seasonal Comment:
Open April 1 through October 31.
RATE AND MAXIMUM STAY PERMITTED
Rate: $10 per day
Maximum Stay Permitted (days): 14
CAMPGROUND SITE CONFIGURATION
No. RV Sites: 0
No. Tent Sites: 9
No. Combined Sites (Tent or RV): 19
Total Sites: 28
Tent Pads: Yes
Open Sites: No
Wooded Sites: Yes
No. Tables on Sites: 27
No. Grilles on Sites: 28
Equestrian Camping: No
RV INFORMATION
Hookups: None
No. RV Pull Throughs: 0
Waste Station: Yes
Potable Water at Waste Station: Yes
Largest Parking Apron Size: 13.5' X 42.5'
Comments:
Parking aprons are gravel.
BATH AND SHOWER FACILITIES
Vaults: No
Flush Toilets: Yes
Hot Showers: Yes
Comments:
Showers are (semi) outside, but are private.
OTHER FACILITIES
Playground: No
Public Phone: No
No. Water Spigots (non-site): 4
No. Threaded: 2
Wheelchair Friendly Toilets: No
WATER SPORTS - None
HIKING
Nature Trail
FISHING - No
Sumter National Forest, South Carolina
REGION: Southern
RANGER DISTRICT: Andrew Pickens
NEAREST CITY/TOWN: Walhalla
RESERVATIONS: 1-877-444-6777 or make on-line reservation
I have reserved 4 campsites. Each has up to two tents, two vehicles, 8 people.
DIRECTIONS:
From Walhalla, SC, take State Rt. 28 (Highlands Hwy.) west for 7
miles to State Rt. 107. Turn onto Rt. 107 and go 8.7 miles to
campground sign. Turn right at sign into campground.
GENERAL COMMENTS:
The elevation 2,120 ft.
The campground is situated in mature mixed woods with azaleas and
rhododendrons throughout. Walk-in tent sites are located just to
left of campground entrance (top of hill); there are no immediate
toilet facilities for them. Remaining sites are at bottom of
hill.
SEASONS
Open Seasonal: Yes
Open All Year: No
Seasonal Comment:
Open April 1 through October 31.
RATE AND MAXIMUM STAY PERMITTED
Rate: $10 per day
Maximum Stay Permitted (days): 14
CAMPGROUND SITE CONFIGURATION
No. RV Sites: 0
No. Tent Sites: 9
No. Combined Sites (Tent or RV): 19
Total Sites: 28
Tent Pads: Yes
Open Sites: No
Wooded Sites: Yes
No. Tables on Sites: 27
No. Grilles on Sites: 28
Equestrian Camping: No
RV INFORMATION
Hookups: None
No. RV Pull Throughs: 0
Waste Station: Yes
Potable Water at Waste Station: Yes
Largest Parking Apron Size: 13.5' X 42.5'
Comments:
Parking aprons are gravel.
BATH AND SHOWER FACILITIES
Vaults: No
Flush Toilets: Yes
Hot Showers: Yes
Comments:
Showers are (semi) outside, but are private.
OTHER FACILITIES
Playground: No
Public Phone: No
No. Water Spigots (non-site): 4
No. Threaded: 2
Wheelchair Friendly Toilets: No
WATER SPORTS - None
HIKING
Nature Trail
FISHING - No
Wow! I really really want to go. Right now my calendar is open that weekend. The only snag is our planned trip to Oregon in June. I'll start working on Gromit.
“...And Lord, we are especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest, safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.” Homer Simpson
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open boater
- Class IV
- Posts: 948
- Joined: Sat Oct 02, 2004 5:13 pm
wild & scenic
I plan on attending. This is by far the most beautiful river I've ever paddled. Some scenes from Deliverance were filmed there. You won't be disappointed.
dining a la Chattooga
A favorite restaurant is Humble Pie, two miles from the US 76 Bridge over the Chattooga. Next door is the associated Chattooga Whitewater Outfitters store, both conveniently located on the South Carolina side. Chowing down on fine pizza while watching videos of runs on class 5 Stekoa or Overflow Creek is most enjoyable.
http://www.chattoogawhitewatershop.com/humblepie.html
12 miles across the river in Clayton, Georgia there are a good Mexican and good Asian restaurant. If you follow South Carolina Route 28 north from the upper Chattooga you pass through the northeastern corner of Georgia to Highlands, NC. This high-end town, where you might spot a Rolls-Royce with a Florida plate in summer, has a few reasonably priced restaurants.
http://www.chattoogawhitewatershop.com/humblepie.html
12 miles across the river in Clayton, Georgia there are a good Mexican and good Asian restaurant. If you follow South Carolina Route 28 north from the upper Chattooga you pass through the northeastern corner of Georgia to Highlands, NC. This high-end town, where you might spot a Rolls-Royce with a Florida plate in summer, has a few reasonably priced restaurants.
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Manchester Yacht Club
- At the putin
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:46 pm
- Location: Richmond, Va
O.C.T. Chattooga River May 3 - 5
That great, folks! If you don't mind, PM me with names, emails and cell phone # of those going and we can coordinate travel, camping, and river trips closer to early May.
Chattooga River and Deliverance
The Chattooga River and the "Deliverance" Story
In 1972 the movie “Deliverance” premiered in Atlanta. The screenplay and novel were written by twisted genius James Dickey. The movie launched TV actor Burt Reynolds as a big screen star and introduced America to whitewater adventure. The movie’s insulting portrait of Appalachian mountaineers outraged the locals but made the Georgia mountains a popular vacation spot, boosting the local economy.
James Dickey (1923-1997) grew up in the upper-class north Atlanta Buckhead suburb. His mother inherited a patent medicine business founded by her father. Dickey’s father was from mountainous north Georgia. A lawyer who did not have to practice, his hobby was cockfighting, and young James sometimes went with his dad to talk, trade, or watch roosters fight.
Talented and competitive, James Dickey was a high school state champion in the high hurdles. He also played football. His college career at Clemson was interrupted by World War II. Dickey was a navigator in the Air Force in the south Pacific. His biggest talent was storytelling in the English language. He amazed other literati with his ability to recite lengthy passages of famous poems from memory, and his charisma made him a sought after star reading his own work at colleges throughout America.
Before Dickey became a professor at the University of South Carolina, he wrote ad copy for Coca-Cola in Atlanta in the 1960’s. That was when he and three friends went on canoe adventures in northern Georgia. Dickey loved the wilderness. One of the four was an accomplished canoeist. They never paddled the Chattooga River or anything harder than class 2. Despite Dickey’s macho self-image which he loved to embellish for his audience, he was content with a canoeing style that led to frequent flips with resulting beer can chases and wet sleeping bags.
Dickey never met anyone like the villains of “Deliverance.” Several times the locals helped out the canoe crew from Atlanta. The banjo boys existed only in Dickey’s imagination. When the movie premiered at the same theater where “Gone with the Wind” premiered 35 years before, Governor Jimmy Carter sat next to Dickey. Before the film began, he told Dickey, “This movie is going to be great for Georgia.” As the plot was revealed, Gov. Carter whispered, “I hope this movie is going to be great for Georgia.”
In 1972 I had moved “back to the land” in the Alleghenies where Virginia and West Virginia share a border. No one in north Georgia was more insulted than I at the cultural imperialism of Hollywood as expressed in the degraded image of Appalachian people in “Deliverance,” and I had no interest in seeing the movie. More than 30 years later, with my new passion being whitewater canoeing, I checked out the movie after reading that it was “the movie that jumpstarted Southern whitewater paddling.”
Along with the conflict with the violent perverts, “Deliverance” has a strong environmental theme. The Chestatee River, one of those Dickey and friends had paddled, had been lost to dam reservoirs, as had the Chattooga below “Five Falls.” The idea that modern humans are losing touch with our natural roots was the driver behind the “Deliverance” protagonists as well as Dickey’s real-life north Georgia adventures. The American environmental movement was being reborn, and 1972 also saw passage of the Clean Water Act. Unite that with a deeply spiritual conservationist being Georgia governor, and “Deliverance” being filmed on the Chattooga River, and the river’s status as a protected Wild and Scenic River came about. It is truly one of the world’s great places.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/scnfs/re ... 9&actid=64
In 1972 the movie “Deliverance” premiered in Atlanta. The screenplay and novel were written by twisted genius James Dickey. The movie launched TV actor Burt Reynolds as a big screen star and introduced America to whitewater adventure. The movie’s insulting portrait of Appalachian mountaineers outraged the locals but made the Georgia mountains a popular vacation spot, boosting the local economy.
James Dickey (1923-1997) grew up in the upper-class north Atlanta Buckhead suburb. His mother inherited a patent medicine business founded by her father. Dickey’s father was from mountainous north Georgia. A lawyer who did not have to practice, his hobby was cockfighting, and young James sometimes went with his dad to talk, trade, or watch roosters fight.
Talented and competitive, James Dickey was a high school state champion in the high hurdles. He also played football. His college career at Clemson was interrupted by World War II. Dickey was a navigator in the Air Force in the south Pacific. His biggest talent was storytelling in the English language. He amazed other literati with his ability to recite lengthy passages of famous poems from memory, and his charisma made him a sought after star reading his own work at colleges throughout America.
Before Dickey became a professor at the University of South Carolina, he wrote ad copy for Coca-Cola in Atlanta in the 1960’s. That was when he and three friends went on canoe adventures in northern Georgia. Dickey loved the wilderness. One of the four was an accomplished canoeist. They never paddled the Chattooga River or anything harder than class 2. Despite Dickey’s macho self-image which he loved to embellish for his audience, he was content with a canoeing style that led to frequent flips with resulting beer can chases and wet sleeping bags.
Dickey never met anyone like the villains of “Deliverance.” Several times the locals helped out the canoe crew from Atlanta. The banjo boys existed only in Dickey’s imagination. When the movie premiered at the same theater where “Gone with the Wind” premiered 35 years before, Governor Jimmy Carter sat next to Dickey. Before the film began, he told Dickey, “This movie is going to be great for Georgia.” As the plot was revealed, Gov. Carter whispered, “I hope this movie is going to be great for Georgia.”
In 1972 I had moved “back to the land” in the Alleghenies where Virginia and West Virginia share a border. No one in north Georgia was more insulted than I at the cultural imperialism of Hollywood as expressed in the degraded image of Appalachian people in “Deliverance,” and I had no interest in seeing the movie. More than 30 years later, with my new passion being whitewater canoeing, I checked out the movie after reading that it was “the movie that jumpstarted Southern whitewater paddling.”
Along with the conflict with the violent perverts, “Deliverance” has a strong environmental theme. The Chestatee River, one of those Dickey and friends had paddled, had been lost to dam reservoirs, as had the Chattooga below “Five Falls.” The idea that modern humans are losing touch with our natural roots was the driver behind the “Deliverance” protagonists as well as Dickey’s real-life north Georgia adventures. The American environmental movement was being reborn, and 1972 also saw passage of the Clean Water Act. Unite that with a deeply spiritual conservationist being Georgia governor, and “Deliverance” being filmed on the Chattooga River, and the river’s status as a protected Wild and Scenic River came about. It is truly one of the world’s great places.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/scnfs/re ... 9&actid=64
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JesseTaylor
- Coastals Member
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2012 6:28 pm
- Location: Farmville
SC trip 5/3/13
This trip sounds like a blast ! I'm definitely planning on coming and bringing at least one other person . Jesse
Live 2 Paddle
Good deal Mr. T
Good deal Mr. T!
Here is a link to the Chattooga River USGS Gauge, located at the US 76 bridge where Section 3 ends and Section 4 starts:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/sc/nwis/uv?site_no=02177000
Now at 2.01' and 863 cfs. That is a good level for Section 3. Section 4 is more constricted with more gradient and is big at that level. 1.2' to 1.5' is more my speed below the bridge.
Here is a link to the Chattooga River USGS Gauge, located at the US 76 bridge where Section 3 ends and Section 4 starts:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/sc/nwis/uv?site_no=02177000
Now at 2.01' and 863 cfs. That is a good level for Section 3. Section 4 is more constricted with more gradient and is big at that level. 1.2' to 1.5' is more my speed below the bridge.
Beyond having a group-member's paddle stolen in the parking area at the put-in for section IV about a decade ago (could happen anywhere) I have had nothing but good experiences meeting the locals in that area.
Some years ago I skipped a paddle on section IV due to a sore elbow. I stopped in some local stores and was treated in friendly fashion to some very good directions on how to hike in to the five falls area to video my compatriots. (Um, gotta edit and distribute that video one of these years.)
Good people, beautiful area.
Ken Dubel
Some years ago I skipped a paddle on section IV due to a sore elbow. I stopped in some local stores and was treated in friendly fashion to some very good directions on how to hike in to the five falls area to video my compatriots. (Um, gotta edit and distribute that video one of these years.)
Good people, beautiful area.
Ken Dubel