We floated from Chappells to Higgins Bridge yesterday. Flow rate was 2330 cfs. Literally no rapids to speak of at this flow rate. Great trip. Saw several river otters, blue herons, and a bald eagle. Trip took about four hours.

We did the 11.7 miles today in 10 foot kayaks. We put in at 10:10am and took out at 4:00pm. The flow at the start was about 560 cfs. We made two 10 min pit stops along the way. There are numerous locations to pull off and picnic. The second shoals we encountered we decided to portage left of these. See the attached pictures of the second shoals. If the level was a little higher it may not have been an issue. We had a decent current at the start and an intermittent headwind. The amount of wildlife was amazing to say the least. We did get rained on, thankfully it was warm out. We encountered one other person on the river the entire trip! Maybe the rain scared everyone away. The last three miles we had no current, or it felt like we were paddling against the current. We also had a persistent head wind. Needless to say it was tough paddling. Neither the put in or take out has a restroom. The is a great trip.

We did the entire route to the resort on paddleboards. Total distance was 14.1 miles. It took us 5 hours with minimal stops. The first 6 miles had no traffic and two very small rapids. They were very manageable on the paddleboard and your only concern is getting your fin hung up on the rocks. It is very shallow in these two areas and easy to stand in the water. If needed. After mile 6, we saw a lot of boat traffic. The river is narrow and that really disrupts the water. Most boaters slowed down, but the wake was still noticeable. There are a handful of beaches to stop at, but the ones on the lower end often had boaters docked. Fabulous experience. I wrote this mostly for the paddleboarders out there to let them know this is a great option, but kayaks and canoes would be equally good.

We went when the water level was about 2500. It took 5 hours with stops. We did not paddle continually; the river current definitely slows at the end as you are getting close to Lake Murray. We used the alternate takeout at Saluda River Resort. They charge 5$ for day use. Both takeout spots were quite easy to spot from the river. We went on Columbus Day and passed only one motorboat and saw no other paddlers. Although most of the riverfront property appears undeveloped, it is not so secluded that you don't hear human noise throughout most sections of the paddle. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Nice but very busy trip. Our kayaking trip took about 8 hours apposed to the specified 4-6 hour duration. Also, we passed about 20 motor boats during this time-frame. Watching the video above makes it seem like you won't see a soul on the river, however, this was the most people I've seen on a river stretch in a long time. A lot of boats were docked on the sandbars havin' a good ole time. Perfect opportunity to meet new people with similar interests but seclusion definitely isn't the proper description for this stretch of the Saluda River. The Saluda River Resort offers camping as well if you want to continue the night outdoors.