Eight cold, dam-fed miles through a mountain gorge that sees more paddlers a year than any other river in the country, and a rarely-run advanced reach above it that only comes alive a few days a season.
About the River
The Nantahala rises in the mountains near the North Carolina–Georgia line and runs north for about 48 miles through Nantahala National Forest before joining the Little Tennessee River under Fontana Lake. A diversion dam impounds most of that flow into Nantahala Lake, then sends it underground through a five-and-a-half-mile penstock to the Nantahala Powerhouse near Beechertown, well downstream. The natural channel in between, a steep, boulder-choked gorge below the dam, runs mostly dry except on a handful of days a year when Duke Energy schedules a bypass release. Below the powerhouse, the diverted water re-enters the riverbed and stays cold, drawn from deep in the reservoir, year-round.
That powerhouse discharge is what makes the Nantahala Gorge run, an eight-mile stretch from Beechertown to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, one of the most heavily paddled pieces of whitewater in the country: nearly continuous Class II–III water, a reliable daily schedule through the season, and a nationally known training ground that's produced Olympic slalom paddlers and hosted the 2013 ICF Freestyle World Championships. Above the powerhouse, the water Duke Energy bypasses into the dewatered gorge on those scheduled release days splits into two reaches American Whitewater lists separately, the steep, boulder-strewn Cascades right below the dam and the more open Upper Nantahala below that, but outfitters and paddlers run them as one continuous advanced trip.
The primary gauge sits within the Gorge itself, a few miles below the put-in, so unlike a lot of tailwater rivers it does reflect what's actually in the riverbed, but only during the hours Duke Energy is generating. The powerhouse typically starts sending water down mid-morning and shuts off by late afternoon, in season from March through October; check the schedule below before planning a trip. The Cascades and Upper reach only run on the handful of days a year Duke Energy publishes in advance. A Nantahala National Forest day-use pass is required for parking at the put-in and take-out.
Flow Guide
Duke Energy's generation schedule, not natural streamflow, is what puts water in the Gorge. The live reading below is real, it's measured inside the paddled reach, but it only means what you'd expect during the hours the powerhouse is actually running.
Nearly all of the Nantahala's flow gets diverted underground at the dam and doesn't reach the Gorge again until it's passed through the Nantahala Powerhouse. That makes the Gorge's schedule a daily on/off switch in season, and it's why the Cascades and Upper reach above the powerhouse, which only gets water when Duke Energy deliberately bypasses the dam, run so rarely.
| Section | When it runs |
|---|---|
| The Gorge | Daily, March through October. Duke Energy generally starts sending water down from the powerhouse by mid-morning and shuts it off in the late afternoon; exact on/off times shift through the season and by demand. |
| Cascades & Upper | About eight days a year: one weekend in April, four weekday afternoons scattered through summer, and one weekend in September. Advanced water only, and only on days Duke Energy schedules a bypass release. |
| Pursuit | Cascades & Upper | The Gorge |
|---|
* Cascades & Upper ranges apply only during a scheduled bypass release, not the day-to-day gauge reading above. Fishing is best worked around the Gorge's low-flow hours, before the powerhouse starts generating; it isn't a viable pursuit on the Cascades or Upper reach, which sit dry most of the year.
Interactive Map
River Sections
Related Rivers
Check the live reading near Hewitt, then check the schedule to see when the powerhouse is running.