We all agree that West Virginia has the biggest and best whitewater in the East...many say the best in the country. But there are other eastern rivers that are well worth paddling. All are smaller in volume than the New and the Gauley but many are still quite challenging. The southern rivers are generally rocky and technical...like the Summer Gauley. Although rafts are often used, the best way to paddle the southern creeks, at normal water levels, is in a ducky. As with any commercial river, there are significant differences in the quality of the outfitters that offer trips on them...and this can greatly affect the quality of your experience. We'll describe a few of the most popular rivers and give you names of the outfitters that we feel will give you the type of service you've come to expect here at ACE Whitewater.

Nantahala

The "Nanny" is a Class II-III creek that is the first paddling experience for thousands of visitors to North Carolina's Great Smokey Mountain National Park. It's a mild, entry-level, dam-controlled run located just south of the town of Bryson City, North Carolina. This is the home of the Nantahala Outdoor Center, a classy outfitter known for, among other things, producing most of the paddlers for the U.S. Olympic teams. NOC runs guided raft trips but the mild nature of the river make self-guided duckys the way to go. Your ducky rental at NOC includes a wetsuit...a good idea since the Nantahala's water is ice-cold.

Ocoee

The Ocoee is located in southeastern Tennessee near the town of Cleveland. It's a short, continuous, dam-released Class III-IV stream. The Ocoee is steep and technical but not particularly difficult...unless you swim. It's very rocky and nasty swims do happen. The numerous outfitters cater to an abundance of "walk-in" business so it's the kind of river you can stop at if you're just passing through. Since it only takes a couple of hours to run the Ocoee, you can do it two or three times in a single day if you'd like. The Middle section is the most popular and runs 5 days a week during the summer with Tuesday and Wednesday being the dry days. The Upper section is the one where they built the Olympic paddling course. It's not particularly challenging for rafts but you can say that you ran where the Olympic events were held.

There are quite a few outfitters, most located along Highway 64 which parallels the river. Two of the best are Quest Expeditions and Ocoee Inn Rafting. Quest has been around a long time and is smaller and more personal than some of the huge outfits. They also run a delightful rafting excursion to Mexico each winter. Ocoee Inn, in addition to rafting and lodging, also has the best restaurant in the area.

Nolichucky

The "Noli" is one of the prettiest rivers you'll ever see. It's an un-dammed, free-flowing stream so it's best run in the Spring and early Summer. As with most southern rivers, the Nolichucky is tight and technical. Unlike the dam-release streams, however, this one can get very big and exciting when the Spring rains bring it up.

Unlike the more popular rivers like the Ocoee and Nantahala that are close to large population centers or tourist attractions, the Nolichucky is located is the remote and spectacular mountains of Upper East Tennessee about 30 miles south of Johnson City. This means that the Noli is rarely crowded and paddlers can usually find that rare combination of great whitewater, great scenery and great solitude.

The Nolichucky is very steep, rocky and technical. Unless you're a talented kayaker, you'll be in rafts during the high-water Spring season and duckys as the river drops with the approach of Summer. If you can, try to catch the river when the rhododendrons are in bloom...usually in early June. Imagine a narrow gorge, over 1,000-feet deep, covered with blooming flowers. Incredible!

There aren't too many outfitters on the Nolichucky but one of the best is the Nantahala Outdoor Center, which maintains an outpost there.

Chattooga

The Chattooga is most famous as being the setting for the movie "Deliverance." It's a wild free-flowing river that forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows un-dammed through two national forests and is a truly remote wilderness experience. Section III of the Chattooga is Class III and family-friendly with mild drops, warm water and spectacular wilderness scenery. Section IV is big-time buttkicking Class IV-V action and is like a low-volume version of the Gauley.

There are only three outfitters on the Chattooga and, like so many other southern rivers, we'd recommend choosing Nantahala Outdoor Center. Since the river flows naturally, the best time to run it is in the Spring and early Summer.