Paddled May 29, 2026. Water level was 3.78 ft @ 1370cfs. It took us 3.5 hours with a 15 min break. The first 2 miles are lively with ripples and lots of Class I rapids. There could have been one that was Class II. After that, the next 7 miles were mixed with some flat, non-flowing sections and then some ripples. Overall, it was a good trip. There are two Sand Mining operations on the river, which was very interesting. Not much wildlife. Put-in has facilities and is a short walk to the river with a sandy beach. The take-out has about 10 parking spaces, a concrete ramp and no facilities. There is a charge at the put in for non-county residents of $10.

Paddled 12/27 from Broad River Greenway to Worth Mountain WMA. Floating dock at Gaston Shoals Dam portage was missing (we saw the posts). You will have to climb ~4 feet to the start of the portage. However, this trail was well-marked and easy to follow. Cherokee Falls portage was not well-marked and involved a difficult re-entry. Wildlife after the 99 Island dam was amazing- we saw a deer cross the river as well as otters and bald eagles.

We kayak fished this stretch on July 17, 2020 with just over 4ft flows. The first part is a lot of fun with a lot of small rapids for about 2 miles. After that you have about 7 miles of a long slow wide river. So after the rapids prepare for a lot of paddling. In some areas we had winds against us and would lose ground if you stopped paddling. For 90% of this trip this is river going through the wilderness. A nice river but the last 7 miles was really hot in mid July! I posted a video on this trip which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/EaKYY1ach6g The launch is very nice and the take out is easy to find. If you decide to fish this section remember you will need both a NC and SC fishing license.