Kentucky whitewater - Rock Creek, Cumberland Plateau Mountains, McCreary County

McCreary county, White Oak Junction to Big South Fork of Cumberland River section whitewater kayaking, rafting, and paddling information.

 

CLASS II-III(IV)     6 miles
  The White Oak Junction to Big South Fork of Cumberland River section of Rock Creek in Kentucky is 6 miles long and is a class II-III(IV) section of whitewater according to American Whitewater. The scenic beauty of McCreary County and the playfulness of the water are in themselves reasons enough to come here to paddle. If you've been out of state whitewater rafting and kayaking you might find the rivers here more forgiving, so keep in mind that quite a few of the sections here are pretty easy. There are no other sections to paddle along Rock Creek than the
    White Oak Junction to Big South Fork of Cumberland River section. The river winds through the Cumberland Plateau Mountains and you get great scenery. This is a pretty decent length section, you can easily run it on an afternoon. Getting a good workout and just hanging out with
mother nature are sure to keep you coming back for more. There are campgrounds quite near the river where you can camp. Since you're on this site you are probably into whitewater rafting or kayaking, either way in this general area you'll find lots of paddling rivers. If you're coming from Somerset it's not a long drive at all to the put-in location, there's a road map further down the page with more info on that. Not too many hotels nearby, you'll have to drive a bit to get to one, but if you don’t have reservations you might end up sleeping in your  
car.

Briefly about the general area:
All the water falling down from the sky makes Rock Creek a wet place; of all the months in a year March is the one with the most rain, and October on the other hand is the driest. Through the months of summer at Rock Creek temperatures are ordinarily in the 80's. Through the moonlight hours it's mostly in the 60's. For the period of the wintertime highs are commonly in the 40's, and after the sun is down during the wintertime temperatures at Rock Creek dip into the 20's.
No need to travel far to visit attention-grabbing stuff like Paint Cliff, and nearby you find nice places like Poplar Spring Hollow. Life's too short to enjoy all the enjoyable stuff in the Cumberland Plateau Mountains.

Rock Creek, White Oak Junction to Big South Fork of Cumberland River road map
Printable road map with the put-in and take-out locations clearly marked.

QUICK STATS
AW Class: II-III(IV)
Length: 6 miles
  
Putin Location Coordinates:
Latitude: 36.70309
Longitude: -84.5962

Takeout Location Coordinates:
Latitude: 36.71709
Longitude: -84.5433

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Current weather conditions at Rock Creek, Cumberland Plateau Mountains, Kentucky
WXPort

Local climate location: MONTICELLO 11 miles away


RAFTING TRIP OUTFITTERS

There are no whitewater outfitters currently listed for this river.

Best Western South Fork Inn, Whitley City
7 miles away
The Best Western South Fork Inn is conveniently located just off Highway 27. Our three-story hotel features 55 interior rooms, including, suites, family suites, and Jacuzzi® rooms. All rooms include i...

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, Corbin
18 miles away
Cumberland Falls State Resort is located in the Daniel Boone National Forest. Known as the Niagara of the South, the waterfall forms a 125ft wide curtain that plunges 60ft into a gorge below. The mist...

Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Somerset, Ky, Somerset
18 miles away
The Hotel features 52 rooms with High Speed Internet in all rooms. Complimentary continental plus breakfast bar offered in breakfast room off of the lobby. Rooms feature cable TV, HBO, coffeemaker, ha...



OTHER_INFO
  Cumberland Plateau Mountains Whitewater
Complete list of all the whitewater kayaking and rafting spots in the Cumberland Plateau Mountains.

Cumberland Plateau Mountains Outdoors Info
Complete outdoors info for the Cumberland Plateau Mountains.

All Kentucky Whitewater
Complete list of all the whitewater paddling spots in Kentucky.
Books about whitewater paddling on Rock Creek, Kentucky
List of books from Amazon.com that cover whitewater paddling on Rock Creek, Kentucky.
Find a whitewater outfitter in Kentucky

Whitewater Basics
If you're new to whitewater paddling please take a look at this basic whitewater info.
Outdoors Recreation Near Somerset, Kentucky
Very comprehensive list of a variety of outdoors recreation in the vicinity of Somerset, Kentucky, the metro area neareast to Rock Creek. Find info on campgrounds, hiking trails, ski resorts, lakes, beaches, parks, whitewater and more.
 

   

OUTDOORS
These outdoors activities are available near Rock Creek.
 Whitewater Near Rock Creek:
Roaring Paunch River, McCreary County , 4 miles away, Class IV-V+ - 3 miles long (Barthell to Big South Fork)
Cumberland River - Big South Fork, McCreary/Whitley County , 4 miles away, Class II - 12 miles long (Station Camp to Lake Cumberland)
Cumberland River - Big South Fork, Scott / Pulaski County , 4 miles away, Class II+(IV) - 19 miles long (Leatherwood Ford to Blue Heron Kentucky)
Cumberland River - Little South Fork, Wayne McCreary County , 7 miles away, Class I-II - 45 miles long (Parmleysville to confluence with Big South Fork)
Pine Creek, Scott County , 14 miles away, Class IV-V - 1.62 miles long (Close to Toonley to Leatherwood Ford)
Cumberland River - Big South Fork, Scott County , 16 miles away, Class II-IV - 10.2 miles long (Burnt Mill Bridge over Clear Fork to Bridge at Leatherwood Ford)
North White Oak Creek, Fentress Scott County , 17 miles away, Class II - 7.8 miles long (Zenith Mines to Leatherwood Ford)
New River, Scott County , 17 miles away, Class II-III - 8.9 miles long (US 27 Bridge to Clear Fork River)
Cumberland River, Whitley/ McCreary County , 20 miles away, Class II-III - 11 miles long (Cumberland Falls to Laurel River)
Clear Fork, Scott County , 20 miles away, Class II+ - 10 miles long (Brewster Bridge to Burnt Mill Bridge)
 Ski Areas Near Rock Creek:
Ober Gatlinburg, Tennessee , 89 miles away, 600 vertical feet
Cataloochee, North Carolina , 120 miles away, 740 vertical feet
Sky Valley, Georgia , 127 miles away, 210 vertical feet
Scaly Mountain, North Carolina , 128 miles away, 225 vertical feet
Perfect North, Indiana , 137 miles away, 400 vertical feet
Wolf Laurel, North Carolina , 148 miles away, 700 vertical feet
Spicy Run Mountain, Ohio , 161 miles away, 600 vertical feet
Paoli Peaks, Indiana , 169 miles away, 300 vertical feet
Ski Beech, North Carolina , 188 miles away, 830 vertical feet
Sugar Mountain, North Carolina , 190 miles away, 1200 vertical feet
 Hotels Near Rock Creek:
Best Western South Fork Inn, Whitley City , 7 miles away
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, Corbin , 18 miles away
Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Somerset, Ky, Somerset , 18 miles away
Comfort Inn Somerset, Somerset , 18 miles away
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites SOMERSET EAST, Somerset , 19 miles away
 Camp Grounds Near Rock Creek:
Great Meadow Campground, McCreary County, 12 miles away
Cumberland Cove, Burnside, 14 miles away
Charit Creek Campground, Scott County, 14 miles away
 Trails Near Rock Creek:
Laurel Creek Trail, McCreary County , 11 miles away
Deer Loop, McCreary County , 11 miles away
Racoon Loop, McCreary County , 12 miles away
Hidden Passage Trail, Pickett County , 18 miles away
Ladder Trail, Pickett County , 18 miles away
 National Parks Near Rock Creek:
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, Oneida - TN , 12 miles away
Obed Wild & Scenic River, Wartburg - TN , 37 miles away

Outdoors related information copyright © Stratus-Pikpuk, Inc. - Detailed hotel information copyright © Interactive Hotel Solutions
Some content, including Reach Name, Class, and Length, comes from American Whitewater